Toronto Pearson Havalimanindaki Bagaj Hirsizlik Cetesi Cokertildi

Airport baggage crew charged with thefts
(Toronto Star January 5 2007) Bob Mitchell
Peel police say 7 male baggage handlers, aged 17 to 25, charged in months-long probe at Pearson aiport, were allegedly `loading and unloading bags, helping themselves to stuff'
January 05, 2007 Bob MitchellStaff Reporter
Seven airport workers, including a lead baggage handler, have been charged in a continuing police probe of thefts from passenger luggage at Pearson International Airport.
Arrests began in October, police confirmed yesterday. The accused, all male, and ranging in age from 17 to 25, include college students who worked part-time as baggage handlers at Canada's busiest airport.
Two men, including a 19-year-old lead hand, were nabbed earlier this week while they worked at the airport, police said.
"We don't believe this was an organized ring of seven people," said Det. Malcolm Bow of Peel's airport criminal division. "One or two might have known each other and they all worked in a very small area at Terminal 3 but there is no evidence that everybody knew everybody who was arrested. "These guys aren't sophisticated. They were just loading and unloading bags and helping themselves to stuff."
Bow said all of them had been working at Pearson for the past two to three years.
Police began their investigation after they noticed an increase in reported thefts by travellers from their luggage at Terminal 3 this summer.
Bow said property, such as digital cameras, jewellery and clothing, were taken from baggage of passengers both arriving to and departing from the terminal.
Various aircraft were involved, police said.
"Basically these baggage handlers were entrusted with loading and unloading travellers' baggage," Bow said.
"We're alleging they breached that trust by stealing stuff from bags."
Although exact details of the probe aren't being revealed, police admit some of those arrested were caught by surveillance.
"As a result we focused an investigation at that terminal and we've arrested seven people so far," Bow said.
"We've laid about 18 charges so far ranging from theft to possession of stolen property and stolen credit cards."
A stolen credit card and several cameras were among the stolen items found on Tuesday when the lead baggage handler and another person were arrested, police said.
Bow confirmed that all of those arrested no longer work at the airport.
More than $12,000 worth of stolen goods has so far been recovered, although police say many more items were reported stolen.
All of the accused have been released on bail, police said.
The names of the young offenders arrested are protected by Canada's youth laws.
Jamaal Cushnie, 19, of Toronto, the alleged lead baggage handler, has been charged with possession of stolen property, possession of a stolen credit card and possession of a controlled substance.
He's to appear in a Brampton court Feb. 5.
The busts are the latest to involve airport employees in the past several years at Canada's busiest airport, although they are not on the same scale as a series of arrests in 2004.
In that bust, police arrested eight people and dismantled a sophisticated ring that was believed responsible for the theft of $6 million worth of high-end electronic equipment and clothing from the cargo areas of Pearson over a six-year span.
More than 8,000 items were stolen.
Many of them wound up being sold over the Internet through eBay.
The ring, which was run by airport employees, used truckers working for legitimate companies to haul the stolen goods away from the airport.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/168121