Local News

Unopened Amazon packages were found in a dumpster. So Burlington police delivered them.

An investigation into how the packages got there is underway.

Amazon packages were found in a cemetery's garbage in Burlington. Burlington Police Department

A groundskeeper found “numerous mostly unopened” Amazon packages in a garbage disposal bin at the Chestnut Hill Cemetery, so Burlington police officers wound up delivering them to residents on Monday amid an investigation into the incident.

“To ensure that everyone gets their merchandise in a timely fashion (and without too much red tape!) we are delivering the packages to the proper addresses,” police tweeted Monday. “If you see an officer delivering your packages say hello!”

Burlington officers were called to the cemetery around 8:49 a.m., where officers found the packages in a trash can. The department said in a Facebook post that the discovery was made by a groundskeeper. 

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“While package delivery isn’t really our specialty, we wanted to ensure that the people in our community who were expecting these items received them without too much delay,” said Michael Kent, Burlington’s police chief. “If anyone knows how these packages may have ended up in a trash bin instead of their intended destination, they should reach out to us directly.”

The department contacted Amazon as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information should call the Burlington Police Department at 781-272-1212.

Update: Amazon emailed this statement to Boston.com after the original story was published:

“We appreciate the support of the Burlington Police Department in helping ensure packages get to customers. This situation does not reflect the high standards we have for delivery partners, and the individual involved is no longer delivering Amazon packages.”

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