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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com) -
Lambert Airport hopes it can soon return hundreds of stolen goods to their rightful owners. Police busted up a theft ring they say involved 8 suspects, 6 of them baggage handlers at Lambert.
They says the handlers were employed by Huntleigh USA, a contractor with Delta Airlines.
Delta says the employees have been terminated.
Police say thefts took place during the past 12 to 15 months. Items include laptops computers, DVD's, game systems and GPS devices.
Anyone wanting to claim their stolen goods should call the Lambert police hotline at (314) 890-1822.
"I've been here 20 years and this is the first time we've had anything of this magnitude occur," said Chief Paul Mason, Lambert Police.
Mason credits Det. Eric Williams for noticing a trend then honing in on the suspects after receiving a tip.
"They were stashing stuff and when they left they were carrying it out in their coats, and fanny packs or backpacks," said Mason.
He believes the suspect would swipe items out of checked bags before they were loaded onto Delta airplanes.
Huntleigh USA is the company that provides Delta with baggage handlers. The company found the charges disturbing but indicated it was nearly impossible to monitor employees every minute of every day.
As the investigation continues police now face the tough task of returning the stolen goods to their rightful owners.
"If they can tell us what pictures might be in their camera, if they can tell us some addresses that might be in their gps that we recovered, if they can tell us what they recovered anything that can tie them to a piece of recovered property we want to get that back to them," said Mason.
Some victims filed police reports when their items were taken and police will return their goods soon but that's only a handful of the victims. There are hundreds of items still unclaimed.
If you think you might own some of the items police have recovered you can call them at 314-890-1822.
They says the handlers were employed by Huntleigh USA, a contractor with Delta Airlines.
Delta says the employees have been terminated.
Police say thefts took place during the past 12 to 15 months. Items include laptops computers, DVD's, game systems and GPS devices.
Anyone wanting to claim their stolen goods should call the Lambert police hotline at (314) 890-1822.
"I've been here 20 years and this is the first time we've had anything of this magnitude occur," said Chief Paul Mason, Lambert Police.
Mason credits Det. Eric Williams for noticing a trend then honing in on the suspects after receiving a tip.
"They were stashing stuff and when they left they were carrying it out in their coats, and fanny packs or backpacks," said Mason.
He believes the suspect would swipe items out of checked bags before they were loaded onto Delta airplanes.
Huntleigh USA is the company that provides Delta with baggage handlers. The company found the charges disturbing but indicated it was nearly impossible to monitor employees every minute of every day.
As the investigation continues police now face the tough task of returning the stolen goods to their rightful owners.
"If they can tell us what pictures might be in their camera, if they can tell us some addresses that might be in their gps that we recovered, if they can tell us what they recovered anything that can tie them to a piece of recovered property we want to get that back to them," said Mason.
Some victims filed police reports when their items were taken and police will return their goods soon but that's only a handful of the victims. There are hundreds of items still unclaimed.
If you think you might own some of the items police have recovered you can call them at 314-890-1822.
