US police recovers donated respirator masks after theft

Thousands of stolen respirator masks are on their way to hospital supplies after they have been recovered in the U.S. state of Oregon amid coronavirus outbreak, according to Portland Police Bureau.

The bureau said in a statement on Sunday that the masks were recovered after they were discovered for sale on Craigslist online market.

"On Friday, March 6, 2020, a North Precinct officer responded to The Rebuilding Center at 3625 North Mississippi Avenue on a theft report involving 20-25 cases of N95 respirator masks," it said.

The N95 masks are used by health personnel during the treatment process of people diagnosed with coronavirus.

It added that each case had 400 masks in it and the total loss was close to $2,500.

The thief, Vladislav V. Drozdek, was arrested the next day during a setup meeting with the victim and seller in Beaverton under the knowledge of the Beaverton Police Department.

The victim got in touch with police after finding someone selling "what she believed to be the stolen masks on online classified listings platform CraigsList."

According to the statement, about 6 cases of the masks were recovered, but the rest were still outstanding.

"This was a good example of interagency teamwork and cooperation, along with some helpful detective work by the victim," Assistant Chief of Operations Mike Frome said. "This is even more significant during a time when these medical supplies are in such short supply."

The bureau said further arrests and charges are possible.

The U.S. has so far reported 473 coronavirus related fatalities with over 35,200 cases, according to figures compiled by John Hopkins University in Maryland.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.