eBay removes NZ police hat and badge from auction

5.37pm UPDATE

A New Zealand police cap advertised for sale on the internet has been returned to police.

An "authentic" New Zealand police visor cap had attracted a top bid of $US31 ($NZ46) earlier today and a New Zealand police badge had reached $US10 on the eBay auction website.

The hat's seller was believed to be New Zealand-based while the badge seller was based in the United States.

National operations manager Superintendent Tony McLeod said today police would not be taking any action against the man who was advertising the cap for sale.

"The person who was selling the cap contacted us after learning of our concerns about its sale.

"The person is a genuine collector of military and other memorabilia and came into possession of the cap several years ago in circumstances that appeared to him to be legitimate.

"We appreciate the man's co-operation and police will not be taking any action against him," Mr McLeod said.

Items of police uniform and equipment remained the property of the New Zealand Police and had to be returned when staff left the organisation.

As soon as eBay became aware of the problem, the item was removed from the website, Mr McLeod said.

Mr McLeod said police were particularly concerned about items that could be used to identify people as police officers.

In 2001, triple murderer William Bell walked into the Panmure RSA wearing a police officer's shirt and murdered three staff members.

Bell bought the shirt for $20 from Ese Junior Faleali'i, since convicted of murder, who admitted stealing the shirt when he burgled a policeman's house.

According to eBay rules, police-related items can be listed for sale only if they are obsolete and "in no way resemble" the current police uniform.

- NZPA