Amazon driver handed knife used in Southport murders to adult ‘visibly over 25’
The online retailer said it had launched an urgent investigation in relation to ‘this tragic case’.
The Amazon driver who delivered the knife used in the Southport murders handed the package to an adult who was “visibly over 25 years old”, the retailer has said.
Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana used a knife that he bought from Amazon when he was still 17 to kill three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in July last year.
The sale of knives with a fixed blade of more than three inches long to under-18s is illegal in England and Wales, with retailers facing fines or prosecution if they breach the law.
Amazon continues to list what appears to be the same knife used by Rudakubana – a Cerbera Apollo chef knife with a 20cm blade – for £1.70.
A note on the listing says that age verification is required to order the knife.
The note reads: “This product is not for sale to people under the age of 18 and will require an online age verification check. To confirm the recipient is over 18, valid photographic ID with a date of birth may also be required upon delivery. The driver will input your year of birth into their device and may then require an ID check to complete the age verification process.”
At Rudakubana’s sentencing on Thursday, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said: “He had with him a kitchen knife with a 20cm-long blade, manufactured by Apollo Cerbera.”
She added: “It was one of two identical knives he had purchased from Amazon on July 13 2024, taking steps to hide his identity when he did so by using a virtual private network (VPN), which encrypts personal data.”
Amazon said it took its responsibility around the sale of bladed products “extremely seriously” and had launched an urgent investigation in relation to “this tragic case”.
It confirmed it used “trusted ID verification services” to validate the age of customers on orders of age-restricted items at purchase, and also followed an age verification delivery process requiring drivers to verify the recipient’s age.
In this case, its records showed the driver recorded a year of birth consistent with an adult and marked the recipient as visibly over 25 years old, in accordance with its policies and industry practice.
Amazon said it would continue to work with law enforcement agencies and the Government “on this important issue”.
