A Durham hospital technician stole lifesaving equipment worth £111,000 to sell on eBay, leading to his arrest and a two-year prison sentence.
Durham: A hospital worker stole a huge amount of lifesaving equipment. Mark Charters took £111,000 worth of NHS gear to sell on eBay. He was caught and jailed.
Charters sold over 150 items, making more than £77,000 since November 2022. The police started investigating after equipment went missing from the University Hospital of North Durham.
The stolen items included anaesthetic devices and feeding pumps, some still brand new. Officers linked Charters to the theft after checking his eBay account.
When police searched his home in Shiney Row, they found 68 pieces of medical equipment worth nearly £34,000. Charters didn’t talk during the interview, but police matched serial numbers to the missing items.
He pleaded guilty to theft and concealing criminal property. Charters received a two-year prison sentence at Durham Crown Court.
PC Jack Robinson from Durham City CID said Charters abused his trust. He took vital medical equipment needed by the NHS for personal gain.
Thanks to alert hospital staff, the theft was reported, and the investigation linked Charters to the missing gear. The sentence shows how serious stealing lifesaving equipment is.
