Airport baggage thieves bagged

Theft suspects Santi Toela-wee (left) and Halem Kha-mi-duay.

A close-up view of items seized as evidence in the case.

PHUKET: -- Two baggage staff at Phuket Airport are to be charged with theft after allegedly stealing two cellphones from an Australian tourist’s luggage yesterday.

When Bret Drinkwater arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok aboard a Thai Airways flight, he noticed his iPhone and Nokia cellphone were missing from his bag.

After he informed police in Bangkok, at around 4pm, they contacted colleagues in Phuket.

Officers at Phuket International Airport checked the duty roster and found that 18-year-old Halem Kha-mi-duay from Songkhla and 24-year-old Santi Toela-wee from Nakhon Sri Thammarat had been responsible for loading baggage onto Mr Drinkwater’s flight.

The two men, employed by a sub-contractor of Thai Airways, confessed that the phones had been taken from the Australian’s bag by Mr Halem , police said.

Mr Halem reportedly gave one of the phones to Mr Santi, who took it home.

Police searched the two men’s houses, finding the iPhone in the pocket of a pair of jeans at Mr Halem’s house and the Nokia on Mr Santi’s bed.

Police also found a number of other items including a hard disk, a pair of brand-name sunglasses, watches and other cellphones at Mr Santi’s house which they suspect were also stolen.

The two men are being held in Thachatchai Police Station.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-06-23

I told you it was an inside job...

That's a nice watch bottom left.

It will be interesting to see if Thai Airways takes any action against the sub-contractor, perhaps (can I dare suggest), considering alternative suppliers.

most are inside jobs

Hooray. Only two and it's been a big problem there for quite a while .... but at least someone's been caught and charged.

Hands up who else in Thaivisa has had stuff taken out of their luggage when using this airport?

The cynic in me suspects however that perhaps these two upstarts were given up as they were beginning to eat into the big boys profits.

The day our stuff was ripped off we transited BKK and went on the Chiang Mai. As soon as I picked up the case there I knew it was lighter. Went the same day to the big police station and they suggested we travel back to Bangkok to report it - as "that is where the things were probably stolen". Ho ho ho, and no further action taken. Airline + airport authority took a similarly decisive approach to our predicament.

Edited June 23, 201016 yr by chiangmaibruce

u mean , people actually put valuables in their checked bags ?

who knew ?

Anyone who leaves an iphone in a checked bag deserves to have it stolen....duh.

most are inside jobs

All are inside jobs, you don't see anyone inside the airport at baggage claim, riffling through anyone's luggage, It's always behind those closed doors where it happens, where workers can easily get thier paws on easy open bags etc.

u mean , people actually put valuables in their checked bags ?

who knew ?

:ph34r:Where else are they going to get stolen

Nice work by the coppers. I probably wouldn't have reported it believing that nothing would have been done, and it seems I would have been very wrong.

Nice work by the coppers. I probably wouldn't have reported it believing that nothing would have been done, and it seems I would have been very wrong.

Dont use canvass/cloth/Leather luggage.

I know a Guy who works at an Airport in the UK and he advised me to buy hard shell type luggage as baggage thieves do not normally have much time and feel through the softer canvass type luggage first for hard items like cameras, computers, phones etc.

Great story, let’s hope this is a lesson to those thieving buggers not to be stupid and get caught next time. Good on the police though for actually following up and apprehending the swine’s!!. Oh banana!!!

Mr Drinkwater's contribution to the crime is not insignificant. If he hadn't been so stupid as to put an I-Phone in checked baggage the crime would not have occurred. It's like leaving a laptop in a parked car.

Bottom line: Don't put anything in your checked baggage, anywhere in the world, that you are not prepared to lose.

There are a number of scenarios that might have resulted in the passenger not taking due care. I find it disturbing that people blame the victim with little comment about the criminals.

I have been on more than one flight where they have decided to weigh the carry on bags and will not allow more than 7 kilos. I have had this happen more than once. The last time, it was flying out of Phom Phenh to BKK. My suitcase was already checked and this meant that my carry-on had to be checked through. I had my laptop, mobile phone, watch (as well as some cash) in the bag. There was no budging them. I finally took out as much clothing as I could wear, shoved my laptop under a sweater I was wearing and went through. Before the metal detectors, I put the laptop back in the bag.

Several tourists behind me, got their bags put in the cargo bin. Several were quite upset, so it was clear they had stuff in the bags they were concerned about. I might add that on that day, the amount of time was very limited.

Singapore airlines routinely does this, but the weighing is done BEFORE your luggage is checked in, so you can move things freely from one bag to the other.

I have learnt, after a rip off in the rotten "secure" baggage room at Swampy, never to pack what I can not afford to lose. Documents, tickets,Papers, hard drives, SD cards, camera, discs, chargers, meds, etc, etc, etc.

Glad to see the scum caught. Will the owners see their goods again?? Will they want to...the ones that is that had insurance???

That's a nice watch bottom left.

i like the one in the middle

There are a number of scenarios that might have resulted in the passenger not taking due care. I find it disturbing that people blame the victim with little comment about the criminals.

I have been on more than one flight where they have decided to weigh the carry on bags and will not allow more than 7 kilos. I have had this happen more than once. The last time, it was flying out of Phom Phenh to BKK. My suitcase was already checked and this meant that my carry-on had to be checked through. I had my laptop, mobile phone, watch (as well as some cash) in the bag. There was no budging them. I finally took out as much clothing as I could wear, shoved my laptop under a sweater I was wearing and went through. Before the metal detectors, I put the laptop back in the bag.

Several tourists behind me, got their bags put in the cargo bin. Several were quite upset, so it was clear they had stuff in the bags they were concerned about. I might add that on that day, the amount of time was very limited.

Singapore airlines routinely does this, but the weighing is done BEFORE your luggage is checked in, so you can move things freely from one bag to the other.

Completely agree - while we can all do more to protect ourselves from criminals and their acts, it is still always the perpetrator's fault. Period. The concept of trying to make out luggage look less desireable than another's so that they get robbed may be logical, but it should be unnecessary. Airlines should use cameras to check for bad eggs in their staff and contractors - and people in secure areas should always be searched in and out - this stops bombs coming in and good going out. Not very difficult to set up.

As to hand luggage - I always leave my hand luggage with friends while checking in and pick it up when going to the gate - its only ever the check-in people that get shirty about weight etc. No danger to the plane (like they pretend) otherwise they would weigh passengers and would not allow extra baggage at all.

Irrelevant religious comments removed.

Nice work by the coppers. I probably wouldn't have reported it believing that nothing would have been done, and it seems I would have been very wrong.

Dont use canvass/cloth/Leather luggage.

I know a Guy who works at an Airport in the UK and he advised me to buy hard shell type luggage as baggage thieves do not normally have much time and feel through the softer canvass type luggage first for hard items like cameras, computers, phones etc.

Many baggage handlers were caught at Heathrow in UK maybe 10-15 years ago and I think last year there was a crackdown at Suvanapuni. This is common throughout the world and well publicised. Anyone who leaves valuables in their checked in baggage deserves to lose them. I lost sunglasses but i hope the bastards enjoyed them because they were strong prescription lenses.

One just has to be aware that this occurs all over the world. No valuables in checked baggage, point. If not avoidable use at least hardshells and good locks. No point to make it easy for these thugs, just because "it shouldn't happen". Naive behavior at least, unless it was a cleverly set trap;)

scum

These are but two very small fish.

Its the big sharks in Bangkok that need to be found but they never will, as they are all protected from arrest.

There are a number of scenarios that might have resulted in the passenger not taking due care. I find it disturbing that people blame the victim with little comment about the criminals.

I totally agree ... only in the bitter twisted world of Thaivisa would 90% of the respondents blame the person whose gear was nicked.

A bit along the lines of she shouldn't have a short skirt ... deserved to be raped, etc. Yes, everyone should take sensible precautions but the airport authority, the airlines, etc should do their job and ensure both us and our belongings are secure.

And for the smarty-pants who say "shouldn't pack valuables", well news flash! it isn't always "valuables" that get ripped off ... in our case it was mainly new good quality clothes for our young child, a new teddy bear, and a few other items of clothing. Or should we have carried that on board too?

There are a number of scenarios that might have resulted in the passenger not taking due care. I find it disturbing that people blame the victim with little comment about the criminals.

I have been on more than one flight where they have decided to weigh the carry on bags and will not allow more than 7 kilos. I have had this happen more than once. The last time, it was flying out of Phom Phenh to BKK. My suitcase was already checked and this meant that my carry-on had to be checked through. I had my laptop, mobile phone, watch (as well as some cash) in the bag. There was no budging them. I finally took out as much clothing as I could wear, shoved my laptop under a sweater I was wearing and went through. Before the metal detectors, I put the laptop back in the bag.

Several tourists behind me, got their bags put in the cargo bin. Several were quite upset, so it was clear they had stuff in the bags they were concerned about. I might add that on that day, the amount of time was very limited.

Singapore airlines routinely does this, but the weighing is done BEFORE your luggage is checked in, so you can move things freely from one bag to the other.

I've had them weigh my carry on bag, but never my computer bag. So, I stuff all my electronics and everything heavy in it...

There are a number of scenarios that might have resulted in the passenger not taking due care. I find it disturbing that people blame the victim with little comment about the criminals.

I have been on more than one flight where they have decided to weigh the carry on bags and will not allow more than 7 kilos. I have had this happen more than once. The last time, it was flying out of Phom Phenh to BKK. My suitcase was already checked and this meant that my carry-on had to be checked through. I had my laptop, mobile phone, watch (as well as some cash) in the bag. There was no budging them. I finally took out as much clothing as I could wear, shoved my laptop under a sweater I was wearing and went through. Before the metal detectors, I put the laptop back in the bag.

Several tourists behind me, got their bags put in the cargo bin. Several were quite upset, so it was clear they had stuff in the bags they were concerned about. I might add that on that day, the amount of time was very limited.

Singapore airlines routinely does this, but the weighing is done BEFORE your luggage is checked in, so you can move things freely from one bag to the other.

I've had them weigh my carry on bag, but never my computer bag. So, I stuff all my electronics and everything heavy in it...

There's another angle to consider.

If it's that easy for the thieves to quickly take things from checked in luggage then it's also very easy for them to deposit things into the luggage, e.g. small bombs etc.

Just wonder how well this angle is covered in the security systems, at all airports worldwide?

There's another angle to consider.

If it's that easy for the thieves to quickly take things from checked in luggage then it's also very easy for them to deposit things into the luggage, e.g. small bombs etc.

Just wonder how well this angle is covered in the security systems, at all airports worldwide?

Hahaha Its a little loop hole in the system most airports suffer this security issue

Regarding the weighing of hand luggage: There are 3 reasons I can think of for airlines to do so;

1. Revenue. Overweight hand luggage reduces the weight of checked bags which might otherwise attract excess baggage charges.

2. On full flights, cabin stowage space is limited so inconsiderate passengers that have large, heavy hand lugagge can cause problems for others.

3. Safety. Aircraft overhead bins have design weigh limitations. In turbulence or a heavy landing, bins can and do fail causing injury to passengers.

If you're looking for someone to blame when your overweight hand luggage is taken and loaded below, look in the mirror.

Regarding the weighing of hand luggage: There are 3 reasons I can think of for airlines to do so;

1. Revenue. Overweight hand luggage reduces the weight of checked bags which might otherwise attract excess baggage charges.

2. On full flights, cabin stowage space is limited so inconsiderate passengers that have large, heavy hand lugagge can cause problems for others.

3. Safety. Aircraft overhead bins have design weigh limitations. In turbulence or a heavy landing, bins can and do fail causing injury to passengers.

If you're looking for someone to blame when your overweight hand luggage is taken and loaded below, look in the mirror.

Yes and no. I travel with my lap top and my valuables. It fits into my messenger style bag and the thing usually exceeds 10kg. I am always below my checked bag allowance. How the heck do you expect me to transport my laptop, phones and other stuff they tell me not to check? It's a <deleted> catch 22. I understand why people check phones. I have a phone for North America, a phone for Thailand, and until recently a phone for the EU. Try transiting in some airports with lots of electronics and you can jam a security line or be taken aside for a check. I have the drill down pat now, liquids in my plastic bag, laptop pulled for seperate scanning and phones in the outside pocket, but more often than not, my coins, lots of wires and AA / AAA batteries can cause the security to think I have bullets.