An employee at the Phuket International Airport in Thailand was arrested after video surfaced of him apparently going through a passenger’s luggage and then swiping some of the contents.
Abdullah Hayee Mayeh, 27, is seen in what appears to be cell phone footage of the incident in question.
In the video, Mayeh opens a large, black Singapore-bound suitcase and then rifles through it with both hands. At one point, it appears Mayeh is elbows deep in someone else’s luggage. He the decides the contents of the first bag aren’t for him and moves on to another.
Mayeh then starts in on another large, black piece of luggage. First he tries the outside compartments and side pockets–finding nothing of value. His hands work briskly and the inspection is short work as he opens the main compartment and digs in.
Throughout, Mayeh occasionally steals a glance or two back in the direction of an apparent co-worker–and their camera.
That apparent co-worker eventually says something to Mayeh, presumably in Thai, which prompts a brief exchange of words.
Mayeh then takes the suitcase into his arms and sets it down on the ground, in full sight of the co-worker–and, again, their camera–and appears to make it obvious that he’s going through a passenger’s belongings.
Mayeh’s apparent co-worker then begins to sing a song as the video cuts out.
After the nearly two-minute-long video made its way across the internet, Mayeh was fired from his job with BAGS–a third-party luggage handling company which had been contracted by the Australian airline Jetstar.
According to the Phuket Gazette, Mayeh was later apprehended by airport police. He confessed to stealing a Bluetooth speaker and was later processed for robbery.
[image via screengrab; video courtesy New York Post]
