Tenerife airport workers held after ‘£1.7 million of items vanish from luggage’

Fourteen workers at one of Spain’s main airports for tourists have been arrested on suspicion of stealing items from checked-in luggage, police have said.

Police seized allegedly stolen items worth almost two million euros (£1.72 million), including about 13,000 euros (£11,156) in cash, from the group of employees at the largest airport in Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands, a statement said on Friday.

Another 20 airport employees are under investigation.

The Tenerife South airport handles about 11 million passengers a year, most of them European tourists seeking the pleasant climate of the islands off the coast of northwest Africa.

The investigation began after a rise in passenger complaints about items going missing from their luggage, the police statement said.

The thefts happened as baggage was being placed in the aircrafts’ hold, police said.

Inside the hold, the alleged thieves forced open suitcases, took out valuables and shut them again.

Authorities seized 29 luxury watches, 120 items of jewellery, 22 high-end mobile phones and assorted electronic devices.

The suspects sold many other items online or in local shops, police believe.