“The Civil Guard of Spain arrests 14 airport employees in Tenerife for theft and money laundering”
The Civil Guard of Spain has announced the arrest of 14 employees of the Sur-Reina Sofía airport in Tenerife, with a further 20 workers under investigation, for their alleged involvement in robbery, damage, and money laundering. According to an official statement released on Friday, the operation began after an increase in the number of reports and complaints filed by travelers due to thefts from inside their checked suitcases.
The investigation revealed that the detainees had set up a network that took advantage of their status as airport workers. They would slow down the loading and unloading of suitcases in the plane’s holds, allowing them to open the luggage, remove the desired objects, and then close the zippers again, leaving no signs of manipulation. The stolen items included jewelry, mobile phones, watches, and electronic devices.
The value of all the stolen objects recovered amounts to 1,953,571 euros (about US$ 2,140,000). The criminal group was structured to perform specific functions, including choosing flights, hiding stolen objects in clothing with interior seams, selling the items in jewelry stores or through the internet, and distributing the profits.
The Civil Guard’s operation involved the intervention in the lockers of the airport workers, as well as in their private vehicles and homes. Seized items included 29 high-end watches, 120 pieces of jewelry, 22 high-end mobile phones, electronic devices, 13,000 euros in cash, and a high-end vehicle. The detainees also managed to sell many objects in physical and virtual second-hand stores, leading to the investigation of 27 jewelry stores in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The investigation is ongoing, and the Civil Guard is working to uncover the full extent of the criminal network operating at the Sur-Reina Sofía airport.