Everything from iPods to smokes was taken.*
In an update to the original story, The Associated Press writes “eight contract baggage handlers for Delta Airlines rifled through hundreds of bags of luggage at Lambert Airport over a period of more than a year, stealing some 900 items ranging from laptops and iPods to cologne and cigarettes, airport police said Thursday. … At a news conference at the airport, most of the recovered items were laid out on tables. The thieves targeted expensive goods, mostly electronic devices, games, computers and computer equipment.
There also were more mundane items — cartons of cigarettes, battery chargers, even cologne.” Airport police chief Paul Mason says: “I’ve been here 20 years and this is the first time we’ve had anything of this magnitude.”
*In terms of ethnicity, the city is made up of 51.2% African American, 43.9% White, 2% Asian, and 1% Native American with the remainder from those with two or more ethnic backgrounds (US Census Bureau). –Ed.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds “the employees stashed the items until the work day ended, then left with the stolen loot stuffed inside jackets or backpacks, Mason said. … The thefts are isolated to Delta travelers and did not affect other airlines or other parts of the airport. Most of the items were stolen from the baggage of outbound fliers, said the lead investigator, detective Eric K. Williams.” The Post-Dispatch says customers who believe something may have been stolen from their luggage while flying out of St. Louis during the past 15 months should call a police hotline number at (314) 890-1822.
ORIGINAL POST: If you’ve flown through St. Louis recently, you may want to check to see if you can account for everything you had in your checked luggage. The Associated Press reports “several baggage handlers were arrested for allegedly stealing items from luggage at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. The arrests were announced Thursday. Details are to be released in an afternoon news conference.”
AP says officials have recovered nearly 900 items that allegedly were stolen from fliers’ checked bags. Airport spokesman Jeff Lea tells AP the suspects worked for a baggage handling company that worked for a particular airline. He said the airport would not release more details until this afternoon’s press conference, which will be at 3:30 p.m. ET, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.