Paris baggage handlers arrested

Police have arrested 12 baggage handlers in connection with the theft of €450,000 worth of goods while working at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

An airport official said authorities had broken up “the largest baggage theft operation at the airport since 2004.”

The 12 baggage handlers all worked for the same company. Police accuse them of theft and handling stolen goods.

At the request of a local judge, Charles de Gaulle transport police interviewed the baggage handlers at their homes Tuesday morning.

They allegedly found computers, iPods, perfumes, jewellery, travellers cheques and other items.

Police said they found 80 pairs of designer shoes in the house of one worker. Another was alleged to have a mobile phone that an Italian passenger had previously reported as stolen.

The suspects are believed to have sold some of the stolen items on Internet auction site eBay and some have confessed to the allegations, the same official said.

Police have been investigating the group for 18 months after a high number of customer complaints.