MIAMI — Authorities say curbside baggage handlers at the Miami International Airport accepted cash from travelers to check in extra or overweight bags, causing a possible security risk.
The Miami Herald reports that police arrested 15 baggage handlers Wednesday and say more could be arrested in the coming days.
At the Miami airport, baggage handlers can waive fees for wheelchairs, strollers or bags belonging to military personnel. To line their pockets, police say, the suspects used those exceptions to waive fees and check in unreported bags or boxes that were labeled as strollers or wheelchairs.
Investigators believe the travelers were mostly business operators shipping goods to Latin America who had cultivated relationships with the baggage handlers.
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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com
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