Italy: Baggage Handlers In Airport Bust
Police arrest dozens of baggage handlers in Rome following an investigation into the theft of items from passengers' bags.
12:52am Saturday 04 May 2013
Police captured footage of the alleged thefts on hidden cameras
Italian police have arrested 29 baggage handlers from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport after an investigation into the theft of valuable objects from passengers' luggage.
Those arrested are accused of stealing items, including cameras and mobile phones, from passengers' bags.
The arrests took place after hidden cameras were installed in plane cargo holds to capture footage of the alleged thefts.
Images from the cameras released by Italian authorities show baggage handlers rifling through people's possessions and stealing a number of items, including cash.
Italian national carrier Alitalia said it cooperated with police at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport and in Lamezia Terme, where the investigation began in 2011 and spread to a half-dozen airports across the country.
Lamezia Terme airport deputy police chief Ferruccio Martucci said investigators were stumped as to where the loot was being stolen and theorised that the only place where handlers could be assured of secrecy was in the cargo holds.
He said police installed temperature and pressure-resistant cameras in the holds and identified the thieves.
