Miami Police Catch Thieving Airport Employees in the Act With Hidden Cameras
Jeff Edwards April 16, 2015
At Miami International, Police are pulling out all the stops to put an end to baggage thefts by airport employees.
The Miami-Dade Police Department has decided that a good offense is the best defense when it comes to deterring theft at Miami International Airport (MIA). CNN reports that the law enforcement agency is using every tool at its disposal to send the message that theft of passenger’s belongings will not be tolerated.
Miami police have employed everything from hidden camera stings in aircraft cargo holds to conducting large-scale raids at off-airport locations in order to drive the point home. Officers have arrested six ramp workers on charges related to stealing from checked bags already this year, and 31 MIA workers have faced similar charges since 2012.
“It’s a problem we all face,” said Miami-Dade Police Lieutenant Pete Estis. “We will continue to be proactive until we can see that the claims of pilfering through luggage will actually decrease.”
Only John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) report more airport thefts annually than MIA. TSA data shows that passengers claimed nearly $2.5 million in losses from 2010 to 2014 at U.S. airports.
Estis says he worries that airport employee theft cases pose a serious security risk that goes beyond the loss of passengers’ personal property. “Insider threat is very scary for us in law enforcement, and certainly someone taking somebody’s cell phone, iPad, computer — what’s next?”
MIA Aviation Director Emilio González cautioned that incidents of employee theft “are indeed the exception among the thousands of decent, hardworking employees at MIA, and they have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their crimes.”
[Photo: Miami-Dade Aviation Department]
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This is an ongoing international problem. Here are a list of articles that demonstrate the scope of the problem: http://securoseal.com/main.php?id=325 (on our site, but linking to third party sources). It is a serious issue. It will continue because there are always weak points in security that carriers and facilities will not fund to have addressed (yes, aviation is a business after all) and luggage is very vulnerable to concealed breach. Passengers continue to use locks but are completely unaware that they are useless. The fact that they continue to be sold with an inherent claim that they can secure possessions is false and misleading. We have a video (it is our production) that displays the common methods used by offenders to breach and reseal luggage here: http://on.fb.me/1JISwqP. Their methods take seconds - so unless security is there in that moment, it is very difficult to prevent. The most concerning issue is that if this activity occurs, an unprotected bag will look the same and the passenger will not know anything has happened. It is important for all passengers to understand the risks that come with checked luggage. Beyond theft, most passengers do not know that when passing customs checks, if they hold possession of their baggage, then many jurisdictions (US included) apply a legal presumption that the passenger owns the contents. In plain english, this means if some contraband is put in your case and you're holding it, it's yours unless you can prove otherwise. Tampering often involves undetected drug crimes and people DO get caught out. Roger Levans (New York) is a perfect example of this. He was an average passenger who potentially faced life in prison on a smuggling charge after cocaine was inserted into his luggage when passing through JFK only a few years ago. Read more about his case here: http://www.securoseal.com/main.php?pg=news&news_id=7727. It is up to every passenger to secure themselves when traveling. The system does have its flaws.
They should do this at SFO. Of course there would be no one left to handle the luggage if they did ...