Baggage-stealing gang seized

Detectives have smashed a suspected organised ring of thieves working in the baggage-handling department of Heathrow Airport.

Seven handlers working for Air France in Terminal 2 were held by officers from Heathrow CID on suspicion of carrying out thefts from bags over the past months or possibly years.

The latest arrests are a new blow to the airport which has been the subject of a series of thefts and security scandals in recent months. Last month two men escaped with £4.5 million in cash in a robbery on a van inside the airport. A few days later mobile phones worth £4.2 million were stolen from a nearby warehouse.

The latest arrests followed an undercover operation mounted after police noticed a sharp rise in the number of baggage thefts following the 11 September terrorist attacks.

The rise in thefts coincided with new security measures which have forced passengers to place more items in the hold of the aircraft rather than carrying them on board as hand luggage.

Police suspect the baggage handlers, all men aged between 25 and 55, operated in an organised network. Most of the stolen items were high-value possessions such as cameras and laptop computers.

They believe the handlers used anti-terrorism X-ray equipment to spot valuable items in luggage. The seven suspects, who have been bailed pending further police inquiries, were arrested at work on Monday. Police recovered a number of suspected stolen items from lockers and from the homes of employees.

Detective Inspector Mark Pepper, of Heathrow CID, said: "We focused on flights to Charles de Gaulle in Paris and on Terminal 2 but that is not to say this is not happening in other terminals. "

Previously, the biggest scandal involving baggage handlers was in the Seventies when Heathrow earned the nickname "Thiefrow".