TOURISTS flying to a popular holiday hotspot have been rocked by a shocking airport theft scandal.
Spanish cops busted a huge suitcase robbery ring at Tenerife South Airport in a dramatic raid this week.
SolarpixThe loot had been lifted from passengers’ suitcase by airport staff, cops believe[/caption]
SolarpixThieves allegedly rifled through suitcases in order to find high-value items[/caption]
Police revealed they have arrested 30 people in connection with a massive heist which has targeted hundreds of passengers, including Brit holidaymakers.
They also recovered tens of thousands of pounds of stolen items from a jeweller’s on the island.
The gang targeted passenger suitcases whilst they were either being loaded or unloaded from aircraft on the Tenerife south runway.
Detectives say they believe the racket was driven by airport workers.
They would go through the luggage or steal it completely whilst looking for valuable items, which would then be sold on the black market.
Security sources told Canarian Weekly the gang sought high-value products such as luxury watches, jewellery, smartphones, and other electronic devices.
The Civil Guard believes it has now dismantled the operation though there could be further arrests.
A warning has since been issued to holidaymakers to keep their valuables on them rather than packing them away.
A regular visitor to Tenerife commented: “We are in shock.
“We know there is organised crime on the island and that there have been suitcase thefts at the airport but the extent of this is quite alarming.
“This isn’t about opportunist thefts. This is a well-organised criminal operation.”
The Fiscal and Border Service led the probe after a flood of complaints about missing valuables.
The crackdown kicked off early Tuesday, when Guardia Civil agents swept through several parts of the terminal in coordinated searches.
Later, detectives raided a jewellery shop in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, spending three hours going through stock on Calle Juan Bethencourt Alfonso — also known as Calle San José — to trace possible stolen items.
The case is being overseen by the Court in Granadilla de Abona, which has imposed secrecy orders to keep the probe’s details under wraps and ensure the gang’s full structure is uncovered.
SolarpixPolice stormed a jewellers on Tenerife and inspected its products for stolen goods[/caption]
Guardia Civil
Tenerife Civil Guard spokeswoman Inma Gonzalez said: “The Civil Guard has arrested 30 people related to the many thefts from suitcases of travellers using Tenerife South Airport.
“This operation originated following an exhaustive analysis of evidence gathered from a previous operation at the end of 2023.
“Another 21 people have been placed under investigation, resulting in 51 being accused of various crimes including membership of a criminal gang, theft, receiving stolen goods, criminal damage and money laundering.
“Officers carried out an inspection of a jeweller’s in the Tenerife capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife yesterday where some of the accused allegedly sold some of the valuables stolen from travellers’ luggage.
“Items valued at more than £52,000 were seized.
SolarpixPolice recovered tens of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from a shop on Tenerife[/caption]
GettyThe items were nicked from luggage as it was loaded and unloaded from planes[/caption]
“In total 85 people in total have so far been investigated over these very serious criminal offences.”
This is not the first scandal to hit the airport.
In December 2023, 14 employees were arrested and another 20 investigated over a similar luggage theft network.
At that time, investigators arrested them as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of belonging to a criminal organisation, robbery with force, material damage and money laundering.
The stolen goods were worth nearly €2 million and 27 shops were linked to reselling the loot.
Police are now urging passengers to keep valuables in hand luggage rather than checked bags as they continue their crackdown on airport crime.
Millions of passengers pass through Tenerife South Airport every year, both tourists and residents who make business trips, for work, study or holidays.