ATLANTA — A GPS tracking device led to the arrest of a luggage thief on Friday at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, police said in a post on Facebook.
Atlanta Police officers were called to the airport around 1 p.m. on March 25, where they spoke with a man who'd just flown in from Richmond, Virginia.
He told APD that when he went to pick up his luggage from the carousel, it was gone and that the bag had some high-priced items and military equipment inside.
The victim filed a claim with the airport and also a report with APD, advising the agencies that he had a tracking device on the bag. When officers pinged the bag's location, it was moving onto a MARTA train away from the airport, headed towards Dunwoody.
Later, the GPS updated and showed the bag traveling back to the airport, where APD found the suspect.
The suspected thief was detained at the airport, APD shows on body camera footage.
>> The video below is the arrest of the suspected baggage thief from APD
Officials took him into the airports' precinct and not only returned one person's belongings but two - another woman's reported stolen items were found.
APD said video surveillance confirmed that the suspect did take the bag from the luggage carousel.
The man suspected of stealing luggage already had a criminal trespass warning from Hartsfield Jackson Airport on August 13, 2021. Now he faces the following charges, police said:
- Theft by taking (2 counts)
- Removal of baggage or freight in terminal (2 counts)
APD said he was taken to the Fulton County Jail.