Seven baggage handlers working at John F. Kennedy International Airport are accused of stealing more than $20,000 worth of electronics and jewelry from checked luggage and trying to sell the items, according to the Queens district attorney’s office.
The airport workers are facing charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, according to the district attorney’s office.
They allegedly took the items, which included iPads, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and a pair of two-carat diamond and gold earrings, between March 2012 and June 2014.
Most of the baggage handlers sold the items to a pawn shop or a “fence,” who was actually an uncover police officer, District Attorney Richard Brown said. They would steal the items from the suitcases of both national and international passengers, and set up meetings on or near airport grounds in order to sell the goods.
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