'Don't leave your common sense at home': A warning from police about baggage claim thieves
Atlanta airport officials warn travelers about luggage theft
Airport officials advise people traveling to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to make sure they pick up their luggage at the baggage claim in a timely manner. Authorities say luggage thieves have been striking at the airport as travel increases.
ATLANTA - A luggage thief's luck has run its course.
That is how Atlanta police describe the twenty times Robert Allen Grimes has been arrested for picking up a bag that did not belong to him from a baggage carousel at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
"As the pandemic restrictions ease, and people get excited about traveling," Officer Steve Avery says, "don't leave your common sense at home."
Police suggest travelers go right to baggage claim on their return from a trip or if they are welcoming family to Atlanta.
Atlanta is among the airports that have no ticket/bag match requirements for taking a bag from the carousel and exiting the terminal.
The city released airport surveillance images showing the conditions in which thieves like to work.
They often wait until an arriving crowd clears out -- having picked up luggage -- leaving only a few pieces left belonging to travelers who may have stopped in a shop or a restroom before boarding a train.
The video of one of the cases made against Grimes showed him go up to a nearly empty carousel and take luggage.
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