This [idiotic IMO] rule of not locking checked baggage only applies to travel to/via the United States.
Even airlines are outraged by this. For example, VS (
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/bagga...eening.view.do, select USA as your region) advises that:
Furthermore, some airlines may even reject an otherwise valid baggage content loss claim if you did not lock the luggage.
Well if anyone was flying through JFK, it probably would have been a good idea to have luggage wrapping. Looks like quite the theft/smuggling ring they had going there:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/ny...pagewanted=all