Beware of the flying ‘bandidos’

There was an incident that occurred on a flight to Hong Kong that would make you beef up your safety on board.  One passenger noticed that a fellow passenger was moving his carryall bag in the overhead compartment.  Thinking that this passenger was merely moving his bag to make room for his own, he simply glanced at the passenger and didn’t raise any fuss.  When the plane landed in Hong Kong, a gut feeling told him to open the overhead compartment and retrieve his carryall bag.  When he opened it, his wife’s jewelry, along with their cash, was gone.  There was a thief on board.  He and his wife quickly blocked both aisles to stop anyone at the back of the plane from disembarking, raising his voice in distress, “We’ve been robbed!”  The coach section had 120 passengers so they both shouted for assistance from the flight crew.  Only one steward responded by calling the aviation security.  In the meantime, the other passengers were getting agitated and wanted to get off the plane.  The harassed couple tried to control the exit of the passengers.  “Please check your own bags; if we lost valuables, you, too, may have been a victim,” he pleaded.  Three fellow travelers decided to check their hand-carry and true enough, they, too, had been robbed.  It was only at this point that the cabin crew believed the couple and showed support.

“What can I remember about that suspicious passenger?” he asked. (That the suspect was dressed in black, wearing a French béret.)  The thief was standing in front of the victim/passenger, with his back turned, fidgeting, and obviously unnerved.

“I grabbed his arm and demanded that he open his bag and show its contents,” said the victim/passenger.  Caught red- handed, the thief started to offload all the stuff that he had stolen in the span of an hour: “Money, jewelry, camera equipment, and thousands of dollars worth of goods and cash,” confirmed the victim.

Eventually, the police boarded the aircraft to apprehend the thief.

What was very unsettling was that no one believed the victims until they took action to catch the thief/thieves and recover the goods stolen from them and from the three other victims. 

Later, the police confirmed that this criminal activity has reached epidemic proportions with the authorities catching thieves almost every week on flights to Hong Kong.  The thieves came from Mainland China.

Their modus operandi:  They occupy the back rows of the plane to observe where bags are placed, especially those placed a row or a few rows away from the passenger’s assigned seat.  Once the passenger has settled in, whether watching in-flight videos, reading, playing computer games, or simply napping, they spring to action.  They either use the tactic of moving the bags to distract the owner or pull out the bags surreptitiously and empty them of cash and other valuables.

They target foreign airlines because the penalties are so lenient and they yield good results.  Literally, a big steal.

It is the sign of the times that criminals are just as savvy, bold, and transient as any passenger who take to the skies.  What would stop them from not working their skill and their scum at 30,000 feet above the ground?

“It is estimated that only five percent are being caught, judging by the reports of passengers contacting the police after they have arrived at their destination,” said the victim/passenger. How can we protect ourselves from these flying thieves?

Let us count the ways:

1) Always lock your hand luggage.  I use a combination lock so that it’s easy to open if airport security, customs or TSA (Transportation Security Administration) would wish to check the contents of my hand luggage, upon check in or arrival. 

2) Board the aircraft early so you can reserve or block the overhead compartment right beneath your seat.

3)  “Do not assume that luggage under your seat is safe; one passenger had her purse stolen by the guy sitting next to her while she slept,” said the victim/passenger.

“When in doubt, wear or keep any valuables on you at all times,” said the victim.

4) Wear a handbag that you can secure with a small padlock or hardware. 

If your handbag is too big to tuck in with you, transfer your cash, passport, and other valuables into a pouch that you can keep close to you and even bring with you inside the lavatory.  When you arrive at your destination, return the pouch into your handbag.         

5) Treat other passengers on board as strangers and therefore do not be too trusting. Do not assume that all passengers are honest, decent, and law-abiding, like you. 

6) Do not assume that business class or first class travel is secure.  Like the character played by Steve McQueen in the Thomas Crown Affair, there are wealthy robbers who steal for the kick of it.

7) Travel in tandem — with a friend or family — so that you can both look after each other and your valuables. These flying hoodlums have tainted the art, the enjoyment and thrill of traveling.  Be safe, not sorry.