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Bid to sell Swedish prison clothes online backfires

David Landes
David Landes - [email protected]
Bid to sell Swedish prison clothes online backfires

A woman’s attempt to sell a Swedish prisoner’s uniform on the popular buy-and-sell website Blocket.se nearly resulted in her own brush with the law.

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The would-be seller, a 27-year-old resident of Tyresö, south of Stockholm, first posted the ad in early December 2008.

For 500 kronor ($60), a buyer could purchase a set of standard-issue men’s prison clothes, including a long sleeved shirt, sweatpants, slippers, as well as a matching scarf and gloves.

Each item featured the logotype of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården).

In late December however, the ad came to the attention of a prison official who was somewhat less than thrilled at the prospect of paying for items considered to be property of the Swedish prison system.

The official decided to call the seller, at first posing as a buyer interested in verifying the authenticity of the items for sale.

According to the woman advertising the prison clothes, she had received the ensemble from an acquaintance who had served time in prison.

At that point in the conversation, the prison official revealed his identity to the woman and told her that if she didn’t return the items immediately, he would report the matter to the police.

Within an hour, the Blocket ad had disappeared, and a package containing the prison clothes arrived at the corrections agency’s regional office in Stockholm.

Reached by The Local, the woman refused to offer any more details about how she acquired the prison uniform or who she thought would be interested in buying the items.

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