Victim recognises stolen property on EBay

Seller arrested after leaving obvious clues.

A man was arrested yesterday after the victim of a burglary recognised his own property on EBay.

Danial Rangkar was arrested on Monday for possession of stolen property after advertising a GPS unit on the popular auction site.

A victim of a burglary, who was looking to replace his stolen GPS unit, recognised it online after Rangkar included the device's serial number and a photo of the unit in his advert.

The US$800 Garmin unit was stolen from his car on 20 December but had a unique power cord that he recognised. He had also kept the serial number which matched that in the advert.

"Unbelievable as it seems, he was in the bidding to buy his own stolen GPS," Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice told Associated Press.

Rangkar runs a second-hand store in Queens, New York and a police raid revealed up to US$50,000 of stolen electronics, including laptops stamped with 'Property of St. John's University', digital cameras and iPods.

The man traded on eBay under the name 'nydannysjewlery' and was rated a 'power seller' because of the volume of sales he made. In line with its security policy eBay has now pulled the site.

Rangkar pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal possession of stolen property and scheming to defraud, and was ordered to pay bail of US$50,000 and had to surrender his passport.