TSA getting serious about luggage theft – arrests TSA agent stealing from luggage

The Transportation Security Administration is in the news a bit too much with stories of their staff stealing from our luggage.

The problems at JFK airport were so serious, that the TSA and Delta Airlines worked together to try and nab the crooks in action.

It didn’t take long till the sting operation turned up its first victims – TSA worker Brian Burton and baggage handler Antwon Simmons were caught on camera stealing a laptop, an iPod and 2 mobile phones.

The very people who are hired to keep our airlines safe are too crooked to be trusted with our valuables, a very worrying statistic, especially since this is by no means the first time TSA workers have been involved in luggage theft.

These two clowns even tried to hide their handywork by swapping tags on bags, which means the rightful owners would not only lose their stuff, they’d get it delivered days later than scheduled as it would be sent to the wrong airport. In the worst case, their bags may never be recovered.

Words like scum, filth and disgusting pop into my mind when I read about this – but I am happy the TSA is taking matters into their own hands. By regularly organizing these sting operations, their staff might start to think twice about robbing the traveling public.

I’m also concerned that TSA workers are able to leave the airport with our valuables. In any normal retail or manufacturing organization, you can only take home what you came in with. Being able to leave the sterile area of the airport with laptop computers and mobile phones that don’t belong to you should not be possible.

Baggage thieves helped themselves to laptop computers and jewelry

If you ever lost valuables from your luggage during a flight from Portland International airport, then you might be happy to hear that the cops arrested the possible suspects.

Jose Trejo Romero and Bridgette Bunnell were arrested after an investigation into a recent spike in luggage theft from the airport.

Both workers handled luggage for Northwest Airlines, and helped themselves to over 200 items from passenger bags. Included in their haul were laptop computers and jewelry.

Of course, this is a good time to remind you to never check a laptop in your luggage, and to keep all other valuables in your carry-on bag. Sadly there are just too many dishonest people out there, and apparently not enough oversight.

It always amazes me that someone is able to enter the sterile zone of an airport without a laptop, and go home at the end of the day with a laptop. I have better security at my local warehouse store.

While you and I are searched from head to toe for dangerous bottled water, scumbags like Romero and Bunnell are helping themselves to our belongings.

(Via: KREM.com)

Check out some of these other wacky laws, place names and signs from around the world!


Invasion of the Bag Snatchers in Phnom Penh

If you’ve been to a backpacker ghetto anywhere in the world, you’ve seen them. For fear of having their belongings snatched, they guard their bags carefully. Perhaps wearing their rucksacks in the front and wrapping an arm around it for extra security. That might seem like overdoing it. After all, who is going to rob a backpack with a bunch of smelly clothes and out of date edition of Lonely Planet?

But the ease with which a practiced thief can snatch a bag is surprising. All two thieves on a motorcycle, perhaps with a razor blade, need to do is slice a strap or grab a purse or camera and pull hard. Then it’s bye-bye dirty clothes (or camera or passport or cash).

Bag snatching is on the rise in southeast Asian cities like Phnom Penh. It has always been a problem, but things are especially bad now that inflation has put the economy into a downward spin. Some thieves have completely abandoned the timeless art of bag snatching, and instead simply knock their victims off their motorbikes and make off with the loot before the unfortunate rider(s) can recover. Looks like it might take more than wearing your pack in the front to avoid a nasty situation these days. But that’s all part of the fun of travel, isn’t it?

Source

Stolen Luggage Found in Houston Trash Bin

Um, this bothers me. A LOT. According to this story found in the Seattle Times, 68 suitcases which were taken from George Bush International Airport were found outside of a pet store dumpster in Houston earlier this week. The stolen baggage apparently came from nine different airlines and from destinations such as France, UAE, and domestic locations. Investigators are trying to determine now if it was an inside job or if some punks walked into baggage claim and casually walked off with bags without anyone noticing. Imagine waiting for your bag to come around the carousel when somebody has already successfully snagged your panties, boxers, toothpaste, Craisins, jewelry and other novelty items for their own personal pleasure. Ugh!

News like this really stinks to hear considering how much paper is wasted printing your baggage claim tickets and no one is ever there to check. I think I’ve been checked only once in all my travels before walking off with my bags. That’s pretty sad folks. If you’re heading through Houston it might be time to start making a mad dash to the claim area or just check-in nothing and buy when you arrive.