TS-hey! Airport agent 'took passenger's iPad and stuffed it down his trousers'... and stole $50,000 worth of devices from luggage

The Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:08 UTC

SA agent Nelson Santiago-Serrano charged in Florida
He allegedly admitted theft to police
Allegedly sold stolen goods online during shifts

The list of consumer complaints against the TSA over recent months may soon have to include theft, in addition to groping and racial profiling.

That's because a Transportation Security Administration worker has been charged with two counts of grand theft for allegedly stealing electronics out of passengers' luggage, authorities in Florida said Thursday.

According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Nelson Santiago-Serrano, 30, was caught by a Continental Airlines employee stealing an iPad from a suitcase in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's Terminal 1 on Monday.

Mr Santiago-Serrano was allegedly seen trying to stuff the device into his pants, reports the Broward-Palm Beach New Times.

Police say that after they arrested him on Monday, he admitted to stealing computers, GPS devices, video cameras, and other electronics from bags he was supposed to be screening.

Cops say Mr Santiago-Serrano would then take pictures of the items, then list them for sale online.

They say many of the items would be sold before he even finished his shift at the airport.

Detectives claim he stole an estimated $50,000 from fliers over the past six months.

Police are asking people to come forward if they think they had something stolen, but they say chances of actually recovering the goods are not good.

Mr Santiago-Serrano was released on a $4,000 bond Tuesday, though police say they may file additional charges against him soon.

According to the Broward County clerk of courts, he does not have a lawyer or any scheduled court dates.

He reportedly no longer works for the TSA, though he had started with the agency in January 2009.

Recently, allegations had surfaced that TSA agents in Newark airport had engaged in racial profiling of passengers, by singling out Hispanic men for additional screening.

One agent was disciplined and others received training after colleagues accused them of acting as 'Mexican hunters'.

Meanwhile, a number of people have complained of being 'groped' by TSA agents during body searches.

Reader Comments

I_tell_truth · 2011-07-08T20:11:07Z

Well...

...there's your problem...security my arse!

l_e_cox · 2011-07-08T21:23:01Z

Hiring criminals to keep us "secure?"

I don't really believe that the TSA has gone totally criminal.

But this is the huge paradox in using the police method for "handling" crime.

Crime tries to STOP life. Instead of life coming up with a more creative way of dealing with the problem, it tries to STOP crime with police. Then what becomes the most obvious organization for crime to take over? The police, of course! Since they both use the threat of violence to "stop," they start out with a basic point of agreement. Makes you wonder who really invented police in the first place, and for what actual purpose!

We won't really get our wits around the problem of crime and the feelings of insecurity it loves to create in populations until we can come up with a non-criminal handling for crime. Ideas for such exist and have actually been tried in prisons and other places. But where they are effective they tend to be ... stopped.

Yet, such programs do in fact hold the key to a truly effective approach to crime, and security.

What is basically required now is a larger base of people in responsible positions who recognize the actual nature of the situation and how it could be effectively handled. "Knowledge protects" applies just as much in the halls of government as it does in psychic research or to life in general.

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TS-hey! Airport agent 'took passenger's iPad and stuffed it down his trousers'... and stole $50,000 worth of devices from luggage

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