TSA agent arrested for stealing from passengers

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Police arrested a TSA agent accused of stealing electronic devices from passengers and stuffing them down his pants before putting them up for sale online.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said 30-year-old Nelson Santiago allegedly stole around $50,000 worth of electronics over a six-month period while processing passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s Terminal 1

A Continental Airlines employee caught Santiago taking an iPad out of a passenger’s luggage and stuffing it into his pants, police said. Santiago has worked as a TSA officer since 2009.

He was arrested on two counts of grand theft on Monday. Police said he admitted to stealing computers, GPS devices, video cameras, and other electronic gear from luggage that he was supposed to be screening.

Police said he would immediately take pictures of the stolen goods, upload the images online and sell the stolen merchandise. Much of it would be sold before his shift ended, according to police.