A father became a detective to help police catch the thief who stole his luggage – but was released due to “insufficient evidence”.
Four suitcases, collectibles and clothing worth £10,000 were stolen from Vishal Patel’s secure unit in a Shurgard warehouse.
Luckily, the 43-year-old had hidden Apple AirTag trackers in the cases, allowing him to track their whereabouts, and embarked on a daring chase across London to recover them.
He eventually tracked his belongings to a yellow van and called the police. Officers found one of his distinctive white Samsonite cases in the back of the van and arrested the driver on suspicion of handling stolen goods and possession of a knife.
Patel provided detectives with the location of the other airtags, but was surprised to receive a letter three weeks later saying the suspect had been released without charge because he was “not found to be in possession of the stolen items.”
“That’s obviously not true at all because they caught this guy with my suitcase in his truck,” the father of two said. ‘That defies belief. This was literally an open goal.
“The police either don’t do their job because they are lazy or they are simply incompetent.”
Patel realized his £158-a-month storage unit in Hatch End, north-west London, had been raided when he went to the premises to store a chair on December 9. He said there were no signs of forced entry.
Criminals stole four suitcases, collectibles and clothing worth around £10,000 from Vishal Patel’s (pictured) secure unit at a Shurgard storage facility.

Patel was able to track his stolen goods across London with a hidden air tag
“The police either don’t do their job because they are lazy or they are simply incompetent.”
Patel first became aware that his £158-a-month storage unit in Hatch End, north-west London, had been raided on December 9 when he went to the premises to store a folding chair.
He said there were no signs of forced entry and that the Shurgard lock, which the organization insists its clients use, was intact but appeared looser than usual.
He reported the theft to the company and the police, then checked the Air Tag app which revealed one was in Paddington, west London, another in West Ham, east London, and another was driving on the A40.
Some of the tags showed multiple trips to and from the same Shurgard storage facility, he added.
Patel then began a dramatic two-day chase through the city.
The corporate headhunter, from Harrow, north-west London, got into his car and drove to Sheldon Square in Paddington, where a tag indicated his luggage was.
“I ended up going to an underground parking lot where the tag was supposed to be, knocking on someone’s window and asking if I could check their trunk to see if it had my bags,” he said.

The van in which Patel tracked his belongings before calling the police

Sheldon Square in Paddington, where an AirTag indicated that Mr Patel’s luggage was

Patel provided detectives with the location of the other airtags, but was surprised to receive a letter three weeks later saying the suspect had been released without charges.
He reported the theft to the company and the police and then checked the AirTag app.
It revealed that one was in Paddington, west London, another in West Ham, east London, and another was traveling on the A40.
Some of the tags showed multiple trips to and from the same Shurgard storage facility, he added.
Patel then began a dramatic two-day chase through the city.
The corporate headhunter, from Harrow, north-west London, drove to Sheldon Square in Paddington, where a tag indicated his luggage was.
“I ended up… knocking on someone’s window and asking if I could check their trunk for my bags,” he said. “He let me take a look, but unfortunately they weren’t there, so we went back to the drawing board.”
The next day the tags were in Colindale, north-west London, so Patel drove to the area and took photographs of all the vehicles parked nearby, including a large yellow van, and sat in his car for two hours.
“Then the tags started moving and I saw this yellow van was gone,” he said.
Patel followed the vehicle to a road near the Shurgard detention center and called police, and a patrol car arrived just as two men returned to the van.
Officers searched the men, who appeared to be from Eastern Europe, and discovered one had £8,000 in cash, as well as a knife.

The Metropolitan Police headquarters at New Scotland Yard. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “On December 11, a 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and possession of a sharp article after the victim provided information from a tracking device on the suitcases.”
“They opened the back of the van and literally right in front of my face was my distinctive white Samsonite case,” Patel said.
The suspect’s driver’s license showed he lived in Sheldon Square. Mr Patel was assured that the man’s home would be searched immediately and that he would likely be charged shortly.
“Two weeks later, the AirTag in Paddington stopped working,” he said. “The battery should last two to three years, which indicates that someone found it and destroyed it.”
On Jan. 3, Patel received a letter saying the investigation had been closed because “when officers arrested the suspect, it was discovered that they were not in possession of the stolen items.”
“This is just a lie,” Mr. Patel said. ‘My stolen suitcase was literally inside the van and they returned it to me.
“We caught him red-handed and they just let him go. I did most of the work for them and they still screwed it up.’
The Metropolitan Police said: “Following investigations, including a Section 18 search of the arrested man’s property, the investigation has been closed and he faces no further action.” “This was because there was not enough evidence.”
Shurgard has been contacted for comment.