① Employee Arrested for Stealing Luxury Items from Passengers’ Luggage
Police have arrested an employee of a major airline subcontractor in South Korea for rummaging through passengers’ luggage and stealing high-value items at Incheon International Airport. The man was arrested on October 8 on charges of habitual theft.
The police accuse Mr. A, the identified suspect, of stealing luxury bags, jewelry, and cash worth approximately 373 million won (approximately $312,000) from passengers’ luggage at Incheon Airport’s terminals 1 and 2 between November 2021 and October 6, 2022. Mr. A allegedly committed these crimes over 200 times within two years.
The investigation began when a passenger reported losing a Hermès bag worth 40 million won (approximately $33,500). After receiving the report, the police confirmed that there had been 14 instances of high-value item loss. The first theft report was filed in March last year. Through CCTV analysis, the police identified the areas where the items had disappeared and arrested Mr. A.
During searches of Mr. A’s office, residence, and vehicle, the police confiscated 218 stolen luxury items, including the Hermès bag and Chanel clothing worth 8 million won (approximately $6,700). After two months of tracking, the police identified that the items had disappeared when a specific airline subcontractor team was on duty. They traced the employee and confirmed that Mr. A was leaving the airport with one of the stolen items.
Mr. A confessed to committing over 200 thefts for living expenses. He has been a major airline subcontractor employee at Incheon International Airport since 2011. He committed the crimes while transferring passengers’ baggage into the aircraft’s cargo hold.
② Most Victims Were Business Class Passengers
Mr. A committed over 200 thefts over two years without getting caught. The police believe that because he only stole a few items from each passenger’s luggage, the victims could not identify where they had lost their belongings and did not report the thefts. Most of the items stolen by Mr. A were luxury goods.
Interestingly, Mr. A only targeted luggage with simple passwords like ‘0000’ or ‘1111’. He specifically targeted luggage with simple combinations that could be easily unlocked.
Most of the victims were identified as business class passengers. First and business class passengers’ luggage is loaded last and unloaded first at the destination airport. As a team leader, Mr. A committed the crimes alone in the cargo hold under the pretext of final inspection. He also rummaged through passengers’ luggage when other employees left their posts to smoke.
Mr. A smuggled the stolen luxury bags from the Incheon Airport protected area by hiding them in his work clothes, disguising them as laundry. Approximately 210 million won (approximately $175,500) worth of stolen items have been returned to their owners, but the owners of the remaining 150 million won (approximately $125,500) worth of items have not been identified.
The police are investigating whether Mr. A sold the stolen items online and whether there were any accomplices. The investigation team has set up a reporting center to find the confiscated items’ owners.
A police official said, “Mr. A carefully selected and stole one or two expensive items such as luxury goods from passengers’ luggage without raising suspicion. Many victims may not have reported the theft as they did not know where they had lost their belongings after arriving overseas.”
The police have recommended that Incheon Airport Corporation strengthen supervision of subcontractors and enhance security checks to prevent similar crimes.
③ Precautions for Checked Baggage on Flights
There are a few things to keep in mind when checking your luggage at the airport before going on an international trip. Most airlines recommend not to put valuables or cash in checked baggage. It’s better to carry these items with you on the plane due to the high risk of theft.
The password for your luggage should be a combination of various numbers rather than simple ones. Most of the victims in this theft case had simple passwords like ‘0000’ or ‘1111’. In addition to setting a password, it’s necessary to enhance security by using a lock or latch.
In some countries, items in luggage are frequently lost when passing through airport security checks upon arrival. After passing through the security check, checking if your cash and valuables are still in your luggage is necessary.
By. Seo Sung Min
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