This is likely not the first time you have heard about this property theft issue at the Los Angeles International Airport, and it won’t be the last. It all started when passengers of flights going to and from Los Angeles had their luggage stolen. Last week, there have already been six arrests after a police raid in regards to the thefts, but that is probably not the last of the arrests in what looks like a major sting operation.


So far, the Joint Crime Task Force for the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), there have been 14 people detained. Two of them were for outstanding warrants, four for receiving the stolen property, and six for actually committing the airport baggage thefts. This investigation is still going on, which might lead to even more arrests in a string of thefts occurring at LAX. The thefts include that of clothing, jewelry, valuables, and high-end electronics like laptops, tablets, and cameras.


According to Sgt. Belinda Nettles of the Los Angeles Police Department, undercover officers are still working on this investigation. Chief Patrick Gannon, who works for LAX airport police, told the Los Angeles Times, “Basically everything of value, be it electronics, jewelry and items that could be stolen, in seconds would be removed from bags. They would just open up the suitcases and rifle through them and pocket valuables.”


LAX airport police have made a statement that they believe the thieves are grabbing bags from the baggage claim, as well as baggage on the flights, rummaging through them quickly and stealing items, then discarding the bags where they found them. As of now, no victims names or amounts of value of the stolen items have been released since this is an ongoing investigation.


Right now, the detectives for LAX and the LAPD are working on direct connections between theft cases and the suspects they are currently looking into. The most recent operation gave them a lot of returned items thanks to 25 search warrants. Former employees of the airport and companies connected to the airport seem to be connected in this theft case, including baggage handling services.


LAX officials are disappointed as they do run strict background checks and criminal checks before hiring employees, but some of them have still been proven to commit these crimes.


Gannon told reporters at the Los Angeles Times, “It’s a disappointment, but a fact of life, that sometimes a few people will succumb to the temptations at LAX. The actions of these few do not represent the nearly 45,000 individuals who work for the nearly 350 employers at LAX.”


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