Crime & Safety
Police Make Multiple Arrests at LAX Tonight
The search warrants are part of an investigation into luggage and property theft by hired contractors.
Multiple contract baggage handlers at Los Angeles International Airport were under arrest today, culminating a months-long investigation into luggage and cargo thefts.
Television footage showed a baggage handler wearing a SwissAir safety vest being led from an airport terminal in handcuffs.
NBC4 reported the investigation appeared to center on the airport's Bradley International Terminal and Terminal Four.
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Airport Police Assistant Chief Michael Hyams said 25 search warrants were served on individuals at the airport and elsewhere Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times reported a cargo facility building on the airport's southeast side was raided by police and other agencies, and search warrants were served in Paramount and Florence-Firestone.
Hyams said the search warrants were the result of a months-long investigation into thefts at the airport.
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"We believe there has been a culture of maybe taking property that wasn't theirs," Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Ray Maltez told ABC7.
ABC7 reported that a mobile jail was set up at the airport to process those who had been arrested.
The ABC7 report said the arrests were expected to continue until 2 a.m.
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