Alleged airport baggage thefts investigated

Forty baggage handlers at an Italian airport have been placed under investigation for allegedly stealing pearls, cameras and other high-priced goods out of passengers’ luggage, police said.

Police recovered about €25,000 worth of stolen goods in overnight searches of the homes of 10 of the 40 people working at Milan’s Malpensa airport, the Italian news agency AGI said.

One person was arrested after police found illegal firearms during a search.

Police displayed the netted goods at a press conference broadcast on Italian state television. They also released closed-circuit video that showed baggage handlers opening suitcases and removing items.

One video clip featured an airport worker putting a stolen snowboard in a locker. The worker was later shown throwing the snowboard over the airport fence, where it was picked up by the driver of a car that had pulled over.

The customs vice police chief, Agostino Scuncia, told state television that the investigation was launched over a year ago because Malpensa authorities were receiving an unusually high number of complaints from passengers saying their luggage had been robbed.

While some of the goods were recovered in the raids, Mr Scuncia said most of the stolen items had already been resold and were unlikely to be recovered.