From the Seattle Times:

Two young baggage handlers who are accused of stealing everything from cigarettes to laptops to credit cards were arrested last week in two separate incidents that have airport officials looking into whether those thefts were just the tip of an iceberg.

Bob Parker, a spokesman for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, said a 22-year-old man was arrested on Thursday last week after an investigation by Port of Seattle detectives into the suspect’s cigarette selling side business.

“He was selling a lot of cigarettes and detectives initially thought he was selling them for somebody who got them off a truck or something, but it turns out he was going through the luggage and taking anything he thought he could sell,” said Parker.

The other arrest came after a baggage handler tried to use a stolen credit card at a store and was identified via security camera footage. Both handlers work for Menzies Aviation, the same company whose employees were arrested after 68 pieces of luggage were found looted in a dumpster in Houston. A spokesman for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport claims that the problem is exacerbated when victims report problems to the airline, rather than the airport. “We find that people often make a claim for an item to the airline, but never report it to the airport or the police, and then we don’t know that a theft problem is developing,” said Parker. —MEGHANN MARCO

Two Sea-Tac baggage handler arrested for theft [Seattle Times] (Photo: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)(Thanks, Kalun!)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.