31 Miami airport workers arrested in police sting for allegedly stealing from checked bags

There's an entertaining BBC comedy series called Come Fly with Me, which managed to mock just about every aspect of airlines and airports, right down to the ground crew and support staff. Two recurring characters on the show were John and Terry, father and son baggage handlers who helped themselves to items from passengers' luggage. "This laptop," John said, "could have illegal images on it, so we'll, uh, take that home for further analysis." It's funny when you see it on Hulu, but it's less hilarious when security footage shows real baggage handlers doing the very same things.

The Miami-Dade Police Department set up a sting operation, complete with hidden cameras, to catch airport workers and baggage handlers rifling through passengers' checked bags, helping themselves to a variety of items. According to CNN, the sting was set up after a number of thefts were reported; as a result, 31 airport employees, including ramp workers and baggage handlers, have been caught on camera – and arrested – since 2012. Six of those arrests have happened during this calendar year. Police Lt. Pete Estis told CNN:

It's a problem we all face. We will continue to be proactive until we can see that the claims of pilfering through luggage will actually decrease.

According to the network, from 2010 through 2014, air travelers reported 30,621 instances of stolen property to TSA; more than 25,000 of those items were allegedly stolen from passengers' checked luggage. New York's John F. Kennedy airport was the location with the most stolen property claims, followed by Los Angeles, Orlando and Miami.

After several high profile thefts, JFK has become almost notorious for its allegedly sticky-fingered employees. In December – the most recent incident – seven baggage handlers were arrested for stealing laptops, iPads, cell phones and jewelry from passengers' luggage. The workers then sold the stolen items (which had a combined value of more than $20,000) to local pawn shops and fences, including one that was actually an undercover police officer.

"It is a crime that has been around for a long time,” one Los Angeles police sergeant sighed to Bloomberg after six LAX workers were arrested for stealing from checked baggage. So how can you prevent it? You can't. But you can give thieves less to work with by keeping your valuables – jewelry, small electronics, medication – in your carry-on bags. Yes, it might be a pain to schlep your laptop through the terminal, but it's a much smaller headache than having to file a stolen-property report.