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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Paris airport baggage handlers go on trial for theft
2007-06-29
At least they were taking things OUT.
Twenty-one baggage handlers accused of stealing money, telephones and cameras from suitcases at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport between 2001 and 2003 went on trial here Wednesday.

the richest pickings were in luggage from Japan, China and English-speaking countries.
The trial opened in the northern Paris suburb of Bobigny just six months after 20 other people, mostly baggage handlers, were convicted of theft at the same airport in 2004 and 2005. The accused in the latest case worked in Terminal 2F, which handles long-haul Air France flights.

The court heard that the richest pickings were in luggage from Japan, China and English-speaking countries.
Naturellement
Cash, perfumes, video cameras, mobile phones, cigarettes and brand-name pens were among the objects stolen.

The accused were secretly filmed for a month. One of the accused, 24-year-old Christophe Vairetto, admitted he had searched 250 bags to see what he could steal during a six-month contract he held in 2002. Another, Tarik Dada, 35, told the court that "as soon as someone spotted an interesting bag, the others would keep lookout for him."

Air France received 1,700 theft claims from passengers in 2002. The airline estimated the value of goods stolen between March 2001 and March 2002 at 1.35 million euros (1.8 million dollars).
Posted by:lotp

#5  heh, who changed the pic... w00t!! ilikey
Posted by: RD   2007-06-29 19:28  

#4  Paris' baggage has had a lot of handlers.
Posted by: JohnQC   2007-06-29 18:23  

#3  "Paris Hilton has her own airport baggage-handlers? Talk about your wretched excess!"

"No, Emily, it's Paris the city, not Paris Hilton."

"Oh, that's quite different . . . never mind."
Posted by: Mike   2007-06-29 10:38  

#2  Hope Abdominal S. is keeping well-groomed and wearing his best suit for the cameras.
Posted by: Glenmore   2007-06-29 08:08  

#1  I never put anything interesting in checked-on luggage. If I can't put it in my carry-on, I don't bring it.

But for those that do, it's a start. And if secret cameras caught this, then some overt cameras as well as some covert at strategic locations combined with tracking and luggage seals with serial numbers ought to pretty much put the kabosh on this practice altogether. And maybe secret $10,000 rewards for turning these guys in wouldn't hurt, either. And prosecuting the crap out of those they catch, too.
Posted by: gorb   2007-06-29 05:52  

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