Spain arrests 14 airport workers over theft from luggage
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The police began their probe after getting a rise in complaints from passengers about thefts from their checked bags on the holiday island of Tenerife.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MADRID – Spanish police said on Dec 15 they had arrested 14 workers at the main airport on the holiday island of Tenerife on suspicion of stealing watches, laptops and other valuables from checked-in luggage.
Officers seized items worth nearly €2 million (S$2.9 million) which they suspect were stolen by employees of Tenerife South Airport, including 29 luxury watches, 22 high-end smartphones and 120 pieces of jewellery, as part of their operation, police said in a statement.
Police believe the 14 arrested suspects sold many other stolen items either to local stores or online.
Another 20 employees of the airport are under investigation as well as 27 jewellery shops in Tenerife, one of the seven islands which make up Spain’s Canary Islands.
Police said they began their investigation after an increase in complaints from passengers about thefts from their checked bags.
The authorities believe the thefts happened as baggage was placed in the holds of aircraft, with the suspects forcing open suitcases and removing valuables when they were out of sight of passengers and other employees.
“They hide the stolen items in pockets they sewed on their clothes or their own personal lockers,” the police statement said.
The suspects face charges of membership in a criminal group, robbery by force and money laundering.
Tenerife South Airport handled 10.8 million passengers in 2022, making it Spain’s seventh-busiest airport, according to state-controlled airport operator Aena.
Tenerife, the largest and most populous of the Canary Islands, has another airport in the north. The island is popular with northern European sunseekers. AFP
