Spain arrests 14 Tenerife airport workers over theft of items worth US$2 million from checked-in bags
- Police uncovered a range of missing items that included cash, luxury watches, mobile phones and jewellery
- The thieves reportedly sold the stolen products to local and online shops
Thousands of travellers arrive and depart from Spain’s Tenerife Sur airport in the Canary Islands airport every day.
And on Friday, Spain’s national police force Guardia Civil arrested a group of the airport’s workers on suspicion of stealing 1,953,571 euros (around US$2.1 million) worth of items from travellers’ checked bags, according to a statement from the department.
Spanish authorities arrested 14 people, with another 20 airport employees under investigation in the same case, the statement said.
Officials said in the statement that the investigation began after they received an increase in complaints and reports filed by passengers about missing items.
The officers then carried out multiple searches, which included looking in employees’ lockers, vehicles, and homes, the statement said. The officers uncovered a range of stolen items, which included 13,000 euros (around US$14,000) of cash, 29 luxury watches, 120 items of jewellery, 22 mobile phones, and electronic devices, according to the statement.
It is believed that the thefts happened when the suitcases were placed in the aircraft’s holds, the statement said, and once in the hold, the workers opened and stole from the bags. According to the statement, the thieves are thought to have sold the stolen items to local and online shops. (According to the statement, 27 jewellery stores in Tenerife are also under investigation.)
