A behind-the-scenes worker at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is accused of stealing nearly $85,000 in valuables from checked luggage, including guns.
David Vang, 23, of St. Paul, was charged by summons in Hennepin County District Court with 11 counts of felony theft in losses last summer and fall at Terminal 1, also known as the Lindbergh terminal.
"Such thefts are rare, but they do occur," airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said Thursday. "Nearly 20,000 people work at MSP International Airport, and while most are honest, law-abiding citizens, there are likely to be a few in such a large group who aren't as trustworthy."
Precaution advice
Hogan added that the best way for travelers to protect themselves is to "pack valuables in their carry-on luggage, rather than their checked luggage, whenever possible."
Along with 10 firearms retrieved from Vang's living room closet, authorities say they uncovered more than 700 other items he stole, including iPads, laptop computers, projectors, cellphones, cameras, purses, watches, knives, jewelry and hunting and fishing gear.
Vang was employed at the time by the Dallas area's Elite Line Services to maintain baggage conveyance systems.
Airport police were led to the thefts after a Delta Air Lines traveler reported that his bow and electronic items were missing from his luggage when he arrived in Alaska from Minneapolis, according to the criminal complaint.
All of the victims were believed to be passengers making flight connections, because "the items had been electronically scanned into checked luggage inventory by [MSP] airline employees but were not among the items scanned as having been loaded onto the aircraft," Hogan said.