Luggage pilferers steal even pants, bras at MMIA

Pilfering of belongings of air travellers has returned in full force at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

One of the victims complained that her pants and bras were stolen by the “airport rats”.

The development has left many with sour tales of how they lost valuables after arriving at the airport from foreign countries.

The victims alleged that their belongings were tampered with during the process of bringing their loads to the conveyor belts at the arrival hall of the airport.

Any baggage not having padlock stands high risk of being pilfered by the ground staff of the aviation handling companies at the airport.

A victim, Mrs Sarah Ashafa, lamented that her luggage was tampered with on arrival from a recent trip overseas.

She said she lost many personal belongings at the airport on June 3 on her return from a trip to the US, recalling that she had suffered a similar experience before.

“When my bags got to me through the conveyor belt, I discovered that one of the bags that had my underwears, shoes and other items had been torn open with many items missing.

“I was very embarrassed. Why should they steal my pants along with my shoes and clothes.

“The authorities should do something about it because I know that this will be happening to other passengers. I believe it happened here in Lagos,” she said.

Another victim, Mr Fred Uzo, who returned to Lagos on May 8, aboard a Delta Airlines flight from the US, also complained that he lost an expensive belt which he kept in an unlocked compartment of his luggage.

“I was amazed when I returned home to discover that the belt was gone. I later realised that I kept the belt in an unlocked compartment of my luggage.

“I was totally embarrassed because I didn’t realise that such crimes would still be taking place at the Lagos Airport after all the measures put in place by the federal government.”

Uzo said that he had thought that the era of luggage pilfering at the airport had ended, urging the authorities at the airport to step up security at the luggage area of the airport.

An employee of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), who spoke on the development, said the management of the company was not aware that belongings of travellers were being tampered with at the airport.

The worker, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the issue, said that no passenger had come forward to report the matter to the NAHCO management.

The official said that if such incident occurred, the passenger had the right to report the matter to the airline he or she used for the trip.

He argued that “such unfortunate incident may not have happened at the point of arrival because the luggage may have been tampered with at the point of departure”.

According to him, any case of reported pilfering usually shows on the computer system of the airline, ground handlers and the security agencies involved for appropriate investigations to be taken.

“We advise the victim to formally report the incident either to the airline or the Consumer Protection Unit of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority at the airport.

“Once the case is reported, a copy of the report is electronically sent to the airline, ground handling company and agencies involve in scanning of luggage at the point of entry,” he said.

The official said that the investigation would lead to the arrest of the culprit, assuring that appropriate sanctions would always be taken against culprits.