Airport staff steal goods from iPhones that were flying on a plane from Latam

Miami police have arrested airport officials who stole a shipment of iPhones and Apple products worth over R$100,000.

Picture of LATAM Cargo District in Miami – Marty George Street / LATAM

The two employees worked for an offshore company, Cargo Handling Airport Services, which provides Latam Cargo service at Miami Airport. Upon learning of the shipment, valued at $21,728.35 ($111,986 at current prices), freight agents Gonzalez Torres and Eduardo Vera removed it from the pallet it was on, before loading it onto a Boeing 767 that will fly to Santiago de Chile.

The shipment contained five MacBook Pro laptops, 30 AirPods and AirPods Pro, 20 iPhones, and a cable to recharge the devices. The order was from the German logistics company DB Schenker, a subsidiary of the German Federal Railways.

After getting the boxes out of the pallet, they put them in a trash can and covered them with a net. Having left the boxes in a corner right near the wall, they grabbed their jackets and wrapped the goods in them.

The theft occurred on May 1, and the police went to the charging station on the 19th of the same month to retrieve CCTV footage taken by the employees, according to the report. ABC News Local 10.

After investigations progressed and the men were identified, the police took measures that led to their arrest on Thursday (16) on charges of second-degree assault (grand robbery) and gang formation.

If convicted of the maximum sentence, based on the value of the charge, they face up to 30 years in prison and another 30 years on probation.

Latin America’s position

In connection with the complaint filed by Miami-Dade Police against two employees of Cargo Handling Airport Services, the company states that:

LATAM complied with its security protocol, and upon discovery of suspicious behavior by Cargo Handling Airport Services personnel, it collected the information and notified the authority immediately, which led to an official investigation that is still ongoing.

LATAM reinforces its commitment to safety and the implementation of all protocols and procedures involved.