2023-12-15 19:56:06
According to investigators, the suspects were forcing the suitcases to steal valuables while they were out of sight of passengers and other employees.
Caught with their hand… in the suitcase: 14 employees of an airport on the Spanish island of Tenerife were arrested, suspected of having stolen loot estimated at nearly two million euros from passengers’ luggage, a announced the Civil Guard on Friday.
The loot included 29 luxury watches, 22 state-of-the-art smartphones and 120 pieces of jewelry stolen from travelers of several nationalities at the airport located in the south of this Canary island, she said in a statement.
The Civil Guard suspects the 14 arrested employees of having already resold other stolen goods to shops. Twenty other airport employees and 27 jewelry stores on the island are also in the sights of investigators. The operation began after a series of complaints from travelers.
Objects hidden in their lockers
The thefts occurred while the luggage was placed in the holds of the planes. According to investigators, the suspects were forcing the suitcases to steal valuables while they were out of sight of passengers and other employees.
They then hid the stolen items in pockets sewn inside their clothes or in their lockers at the airport, the Civil Guard said.
Tenerife South Airport welcomed 10.8 million passengers in 2022, making it the seventh airport in Spain, according to airport manager Aena. Tenerife, the largest and most populated island of the Canary Islands, is popular with tourists from Northern Europe.
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