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Spanish police arrest airport staff over theft of passengers’ valuables

Spanish police said Friday they have arrested 14 workers at the main airport on the Canary island of Tenerife on suspicion of stealing €2 million worth of watches, laptops and other valuables from checked-in luggage.

Published: 15 December 2023 16:46 CET
tenerife airport theft
Tenerife South airport handled 10.8 million passengers last year, making it Spain's seventh busiest airport, according to state-controlled airport operator Aena.(Photo by DESIREE MARTIN / AFP)

Officers seized items worth nearly €2 million ($2.2 million) which they suspect were stolen by employees of Tenerife South airport, including 29 luxury watches, 22 high-end smartphones and 120 pieces of jewellery, as part of their operation, police said in a statement.

Police believe the 14 arrested suspects sold many other stolen items either to local stores or online.

Another 20 employees of the airport are under investigation as well as 27 jewellery shops in Tenerife, one of the seven islands which make up Spain’s Canary Islands.

Police said they began their investigation after getting a rise in complaints from passengers about thefts from their checked bags.

The authorities believe the thefts happened as baggage were placed in the hold of aircraft, with the suspects forcing open the suitcases and removing valuables when they were out of sight of passengers and other employees.

“They hide the stolen items in pockets they sewed on their clothes or their own personal lockers,” the police statement said.

The suspects face charges of membership in a criminal group, robbery by force and money laundering.

Tenerife South airport handled 10.8 million passengers last year, making it Spain’s seventh busiest airport, according to state-controlled airport operator Aena.

Tenerife, the largest and most populous of the Canary Islands, has another airport in the north. The island is popular with northern European sunseekers.

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CRIME

Spanish police smash international drug-smuggling ring

Spanish police have smashed an international network led by Turkish nationals suspected of smuggling "large amounts" of marijuana and heroin from Spain to other European nations, police said on Tuesday.

Published: 25 June 2024 16:43 CEST
Spanish police smash international drug-smuggling ring

Raids in 28 locations in the southern cities of Granada, Málaga and Seville earlier this month netted caches of money and weapons, as well as 10 luxury vehicles and over two tonnes of marijuana, Spain’s Guardia Civil police force said.

Officers arrested 36 suspects from 10 nations as part of the operation, including the suspected leader of the network, a man of Turkish origin who lived in Spain and was the target of an international arrest warrant issued by Turkey, they added.

The group “was focused on exporting large amounts of marijuana and heroin from our country to Germany and other nations in Eastern Europe”, police said.

The arrested suspects also included nationals from Argentina, Austria, Germany, Montenegro, Romania, Spain, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.

European Union police force Europol, which coordinated the investigation, said over 400 officers from French, Spanish and Turkish law enforcement agencies took part in the operation.

Spain is one of the main entry points for drugs into Europe given its close ties with Latin America and its proximity to Morocco.

Latin America is the main source of cocaine and Morocco is a key source of hashish, a sticky brown substance made from the resin of the cannabis plant.

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