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Hidden cameras are catching baggage handlers stealing iPhones, iPads, watches, rings, cameras and other valuables.
The Miami-Dade Police Department set up the cameras at Miami International Airport as part of an ongoing investigation into baggage thefts, CNN reports.
The hidden cameras were placed in the hold area of the plane and a secure luggage room in the airport.
Analysis by CNN of property loss claims also shows that it’s not just Miami Airport that has been affected.
Claims filed with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) between 2010 and 20124 show that total property loss claimed was $2.5 million.
Around 25,000 of the claims were about valuables missing from bags that had been checked in and were therefore under the watch of the airport’s baggage handlers.
A shocking 513 TSE officers have been fired for theft since 2002.
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport made it to the top of the list for most claims for stolen luggage.
While at Los Angeles International Airport last year police used search warrants to investigate 25 locations after complaints of theft.
As a result, 16 airport workers were fired and valuables such as computers, watches and jewellery were found.
The airport’s police chief, Patrick Gannon, said: “I absolutely think that if we don’t pay attention to the small things that happen around here, that it could lead to much larger things. So there is, I believe, a connection between baggage theft and terrorism.”
At Miami International Airport, since 2012, 31 baggage handlers and ramp workers have been arrested for stealing from luggage.
Local police Lt. Pete Estis told CNN: “We will continue to be proactive until we can see that the claims of pilfering through luggage will actually decrease.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
