Items seized by Nottinghamshire Police sent to Turkey and Syria
The items are all stolen or unclaimed goods.
Last updated 15th Feb 2023
Bags full of stolen and unclaimed goods, like clothing, shoes, sleeping bags and toiletries are being bundled up by Nottinghamshire Police and sent to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
Officers from the force's Operation Eliminate have been collecting the goods for the last few months.
In two days, the team gathered 20 bags of clothing and 4 bags of other items, including lights.
All the donations have been handed to the head of the Nottingham Turkish Community and will be packed up with other donations made by members of the public and shipped over to the countries devastated by the earthquake.
The earthquake has flattened large parts of Turkey and Syria after hitting the countries in the early hours of Tuesday 7th February.
Kev Vowles is head of the Historic Exhibit Review Team and says:
“The people of Turkey and Syria affected by this devastating earthquake are in far more need of the clothing and goods than just leaving them lying unused and waiting to be collected in one of our storage rooms.
“It’s horrific what’s happened to all of the people who live there so if we can help one or two families get through this nightmare it’s well worth it.
“They’ve been left with nothing and are living in makeshift tents, having lost loved ones, friends, their homes, and all of their possessions.
“Myself and the team worked incredibly hard to get all the goods and clothing together on Thursday and Friday and get them to the centre first thing on Monday as we knew time was of the essence and the items were needed urgently.
“It’s great that we can put these items that have been seized and are no longer part of an investigation to better use and help support those in urgent need.”