US: Miami airport officials caught on camera stealing money from passenger bags
Miami (US): A video of two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees allegedly pilfering money and belongings from passengers' bags at Miami International Airport has gone viral.
As per the New York Post, these officials purportedly took a minimum of $600 in cash and other items from travellers' luggage on June 29 of this year.
The employees involved have been identified as 20-year-old Josue Gonzalez and 33-year-old Labarrius Williams.
They were arrested in July after authorities started an investigation into reports of theft at the security checkpoint.
They stole from the bags that passed through the X-ray machine. In the footage, one of the officers is observed inserting his hand into a wallet and hiding the money into his own pocket.
TSA Agents caught on surveillance video stealing hundreds of dollars in cash from passengers’ bags at Miami airport. pic.twitter.com/LhFW9yNRNV
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) September 13, 2023
According to Fox News, records from Miami-Dade County jail show that the pair, along with Elizabeth Fuster, were taken into custody, in July, initially on the charges of striking an organized scheme to defraud. They were then placed in the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center.
Fuster and Gonzalez admitted to being involved in "multiple thefts" from travellers, admitting that they stole an average of $1,000 daily while working together.
Both have asserted their innocence regarding the third-degree felony grand theft charges they are facing.
In August, charges against Fuster were dismissed.
The TSA has suspended the officers from their screening responsibilities until the investigation is concluded and administrative measures are taken.
