stealing – Latest News

Airport security officer ‘is caught stealing $300 from a passenger by swallowing the

admin — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 03:10:02 +0000

Airport security officer ‘is caught stealing $300 from a passenger by swallowing the cash’

A screening officer in the Philippines has been caught allegedly stealing money
CCTV footage shows a female airport officer take $300 from a passenger’s bag
She then attempts to ‘swallow’ the dollar bills by placing them in her mouth

Published: 08:40 EDT, 21 September 2023 | Updated: 10:24 EDT, 21 September 2023

A screening officer of the Philippines’ Office of Transportation Security (OTS) was caught allegedly stealing $300 dollars from a passenger by ramming the bills into her mouth.

Authorities are now investigating the incident that took place at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in the country.

The female security officer took the passenger’s bag for manual inspection while the passenger walked through an X-ray scanner, according to the Manila Bulletin.

CCTV footage from September 8 showed the officer turn away while placing something into her waist area.

A report by airport authorities said the officer operating the X-ray machine was seen passing the screening officer a bottle of water – this officer was then seen attempting to swallow the bills.

A screening officer of the Office Transportation Security was captured on CCTV allegedly stealing $300 from a passenger

According to the report she was ‘clearly seen deliberately swallowing the dollar bills, folded into one small piece’, and even ignored a passing passenger who tried to ask her something’.

‘She was seen to be having a hard time swallowing the bills despite drinking the bottled water earlier given to her,’ the report added.

The screening officer’s supervisor then approached her, while she ‘was seemingly communicating with her as the latter was obviously almost choking in her effort to swallow the dollar bills while using her hanky to cover her mouth,’ the report said.

In a statement on Monday, the OTS said that the identity of the security officer has been established.

‘Upon receipt of the information about the recent allegations of theft involving a Security Screening Officer (SSO) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, where cash amounting to three hundred (300) US dollars went missing, the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) took actions to validate the information and launch its fact-finding investigation.’

It emphasised that the incident does not reflect ‘the code of conduct for civil servants, much more of the core values’.

CCTV footage from September 8 showed the officer turn away while placing something into her waist area, before guzzling down the dollar bills

OTS Administrator Undersecretary Ma.O Aplasca encouraged informants to report illegal activities committed by OTS personnel.

Following the first reported theft at the security screening point, Mr Aplasca said security measures were implemented, which included removing the jackets and searching pockets of security officers’ uniforms.

The staff members involved were immediately dismissed, prosecuted and reported to the public, Mr Aplasca said.

The footage has since been shared to Reddit, where hundreds of users have commented on the incident.

Some joked: ‘Omg money is filthy,’ and ‘She’s money hungry.’

Others questioned her technique: ‘I like how she stands directly in front of the security camera and then takes absolutely ages to finish the job.’

Vile thieves are targeting tourists in Spain by SPITTING on them then stealing their bags

admin — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 19:41:15 +0000

Spanish police have warned British holidaymakers to be on their guard against a gang of revolting thieves who spit on their victims and then distract them by offering to help clean them up.

Detectives have published footage of the bag snatchers at work, showing the ruse involving two men working together to target a blonde woman and a young traveller.

Both incidents occurred on Barcelona’s metro system.

In one, a man in a black baseball cap is filmed spitting on the woman from behind as she buys a tube ticket and then offering to clear up the saliva he has left in her hair.

She is seen turning round virtually instantly after feeling something hit her, but the cunning criminal is ready for her reaction and already has his back to her before putting up his Good Samaritan pretence.

Both incidents occurred on Barcelona’s metro system. A blonde woman was targeted by the spit and then rob technique. The man can be seen cleaning off the spit

In the second incident a young traveller is targeted. The man spits on him and an accomplice then sweeps in

His accomplice, wearing a white baseball cap, moves in as the spitter wipes away the saliva and makes sure she takes her eye off a rucksack she has left on the ground that she was previously holding close to her chest.

Once his accomplice has snatched the holdall he makes signs as if to say his train is arriving and vanishes, leaving the female victim to realise she has been the target of clever con artists when it is already too late.

The second incident released by police is a close repeat of the revolting tactic, with a young man travelling lighter with a small suitcase and a laptop being the victim.

A man believed to be the same person who targeted the woman approaches him on a Barcelona tube station platform and spits into the back of his hoodie.

He then turns his back to the traveller before he can work out who aimed something he feels on the back of his neck at him and what it is.

In the moments ensuing the ambush the victim takes his eye off his belongings for the seconds an accomplice needs to take his laptop as his aggressor plays the role of sympathiser and offers to wipe up the mess.

A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force in Catalonia, which Barcelona is part of, said in a message alongside the footage: ‘Watch out for distractions of any kind involving strangers on public transport, the street, or wherever.

The victim can be seen at the ticket machine before one of the men confronts her

The man in the baseball cap walks over and spits at her before walking off and then entering into another conversation with her

His accomplice, wearing a white baseball cap, moves in as the spitter wipes away the saliva and makes sure she takes her eye off a rucksack. Once the accomplice has snatched the holdall he makes signs as if to say his train is arriving and vanishes

‘Keep your belongings under control at all times.’

It was not immediately clear today if the gang Catalan police exposed are believed to be acting in other parts of Spain.

Barcelona’s security has been under the spotlight in recent years and it has become known as one of the most favourite destinations of professional watch thieves from places like Naples.

Tennis star Grigor Dimitrov became a victim of the gangs of designer watch muggers targeting the city in April.

The 31-year-old Bulgarian had the £62,000 timepiece ripped off his wrist in his car as he returned from training ahead of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament.

The second incident released by police is a close repeat of the revolting tactic, with a young man travelling lighter with a small suitcase and a laptop being the victim

A man believed to be the same person who targeted the woman approaches him on a Barcelona tube station platform and spits into the back of his hoodie. As the man cleans off the spit, the victim takes his eye off his belongings and an accomplice takes his laptop

When the man looks down at his bag after the thieves have left he realises that his laptop has been taken and runs off

The timepiece was described as a Swiss Bianchet watch valued at 70,000 euros (£62,560).

In June last year Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel had a backpack stolen in the city.

He tried to chase down the thieves by hopping on an electric scooter after a bag was grabbed from his Aston Martin as he got out for a brief moment.

Last August Barcelona footballer Robert Lewandowski had his £59,000 watch stolen from him as he signed autographs before an evening training session at his club’s Ciutat Esportiva complex.

The striker sprinted after the culprit, who was eventually caught by police who returned the watch to the sportsman.

A month later a UK tourist was stabbed in the city, where rugby player and reality TV star Levi Davis went missing in circumstances which are still under investigation, while trying to fight off thieves who had snatched his bag.

Fish and chip shop worker moonlights as an EAGLE to stop seagulls stealing food

admin — Tue, 23 May 2023 23:46:14 +0000

Employee of the month! Fish and chip shop worker moonlights as an EAGLE to stop seagulls stealing food on Whitby seafront

By Monique Rubins

Published: 06:03 EDT, 23 May 2023 | Updated: 07:26 EDT, 23 May 2023

A fish and chip shop worker has gone above and beyond to ensure that customers in the seaside town of Whitby can enjoy their fare undisturbed.

So invested in customer service is Corey Grieveson, 18, that he has taken to dressing up as an eagle to stop seagulls from interrupting the meals of locals and holidaymakers alike.

Seagulls are notorious for swooping down and stealing food on the Whitby seafront.

Corey, who has lived in Whitby his whole life, told the BBC that people are ‘spending £30 on a meal for their family and it’s all gone’ thanks to the fast-acting birds.

He added that he loves eagles and considers scaring away the gulls as ‘the perfect job’.

Corey Grieveson, 18, dons an eagle costume to deter seagulls from stealing food from locals and holidaymakers on Whitby seafront

Corey can often be seen flapping his wings and chasing after the seagulls in Whitby where he has become something of a local celebrity.

‘This works, they’re not around now,’ he said.

Not only does he receive regular praise from passersby for his efforts, but he also gets asked to pose for pictures in his eagle costume.

Visitors can support Corey’s work by refraining from deliberately feeding the gulls.

However, customers in Whitby are by no means having the worst time of it after a study found that gulls in the south of Britain, especially in the West Country, are bolder than those up north.

He has become something of a local celebrity and is frequently stopped by visitors asking him to pose for pictures

The greater presence of holidaymakers, with their ice creams and fish and chips, may have made the birds less timid, because the chances of being able to snatch some food are higher.

Researchers at the universities of Plymouth and Glasgow are carrying out a project using an app called Gulls Eye, which asks people to record their interactions with seagulls.

Early results show seagulls are less nervous in the south, where they are willing to get closer to people.

In Brixham, the popular Devon fishing town on the so-called ‘English riviera’, seagulls get within 11.8 metres – less than 40 feet – of people.

In Plymouth, where the city offers even more fast food options, the gulls approach at an average distance of 11.7 metres.

But further north, in Glasgow, they stay twice as far away, on average, at more than 80 feet, or 25 metres, from people.

In Shetland, this increases to almost 74 metres – more than 240 feet.

Dr Ruedi Nager, a seabird researcher from the University of Glasgow, who provided the snapshot results from across the UK, said: ‘There is a geographical difference in how bold seagulls are, it appears.

‘They are more willing to approach people in the south and more reluctant in the north.

‘In the south there may be more pasties and fish and chips being eaten, so there are more gains for seagulls.

‘But also there has been a decline in fishing on the south coast, so seagulls can’t get as much food from fishing discards as they used to.’

Spanish squatters target Brits’ holiday homes with ‘anarchist manifesto’ on stealing

admin — Mon, 15 May 2023 11:24:12 +0000

Criminal gangs are invading Britons’ second homes in Spain and taking advantage of lax housing regulations that prevent squatters from being evicted to sell their possessions and charge ransom money.

A movement of squatters, known as Los Okupas, has long advocated for those who are struggling to find and pay for proper housing to move into unoccupied properties on a semi-permanent basis.

But opportunistic gangs have carved out a business model whereby they enter unoccupied holiday homes, change the locks and effectively ‘sell’ the property to squatters.

With the new occupants able to remain in place for months or years at a time, the gangs collect money from the squatters while selling off the real owner’s possessions.

A Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, who recently travelled to Ibiza with his wife and two young children to find squatters inhabiting their holiday home, described the issue as a ‘legal vacuum’ which sees homeowners almost powerless to regain access to their properties.

People hold a banner that reads ‘no to squatters’ as they demonstrate against squatters living in the Bonanova neighbourhood of Barcelona this month

Squatters celebrate from a barricaded property in Barcelona

Opportunistic gangs are taking advantage of lax Spanish housing laws by entering unoccupied holiday homes, changing the locks and effectively selling the property to squatters

Article 47 of the Spanish Constitution states that ‘all Spaniards have the right to enjoy decent and adequate housing’ – a sentiment that has caused a legal loophole that makes it extremely difficult for homeowners to remove squatters who have entered their properties.

Under Spanish law, squatters who have occupied a home for more than 48 hours and are deemed to have no other adequate housing in which to live cannot be evicted without a court order.

This process takes an average of 18 months, and can prove particularly costly with plaintiffs having to shell out for legal representation and bailiffs.

Have you been affected by Spanish squatters?

Email david.averre@mailonline.co.uk

In the interim, the only way to remove squatters is to pay squatter removal firms, many of whom charge thousands of pounds to forcibly evict them.

A recent investigation by iNews discovered that the gangs operating the scam have drawn up a 102-page manual, described as an ‘anarchist manifesto’, which offers Okupas advice on how to successfully invade someone’s home and legal tips for how to extend their stay for as long as possible.

British lawyer and head of the CPS Extradition Unit Marc Robinson is one of several Brits embroiled in legal battles over squatters.

He is trying to recover the family’s holiday home after flying to Ibiza during the Easter holidays to find that the locks had been changed, Spanish outlet The Objective revealed.

The Robinsons flew to the Spanish island with their daughters on April 4 and found the lights were on and somebody was home at their property in the municipality of San Antonio.

The couple called police who spoke to a man inside said to have admitted he was squatting there with his wife and two children because he ‘didn’t have anywhere else to live’.

British lawyer and head of the CPS Extradition Unit Marc Robinson is just one of several Brits embroiled in legal battles over squatters

Mr Robinson’s property in Ibiza was taken over by squatters and he is now launching a legal battle to remove them

Mr Robinson’s wife Sohie told The Objective: ‘It appears they’ve been selling our belongings. We’re certain an expensive bicycle we had in the house is not there any more.

‘When we finally gain access we’ll have to see if we end up accusing them of theft or criminal damage.’

A month on from their upsetting discovery, Mrs Robinson’s said their legal filing to have the squatters evicted had not even been admitted for processing.

‘The police report hasn’t reached the court yet and preliminary proceedings to evict them from our house still haven’t been opened,’ Mrs Robinson said.

‘The Civil Guard told us they couldn’t do anything because when they arrived, there was only a man, a woman and two children they couldn’t evict without a court order because they say they’re a family and don’t have anywhere else to live.

‘But we know there are more people in the house and it should be easy for the police to prove it.

‘We don’t understand how it’s possible that there’s a legal vacuum when it comes to squatters in Spain.’

Meanwhile, Londoner Michael Reagan told The Daily Express he found his Barcelona home invaded by squatters in 2021.

He hired a squatter removal agency to evict them and was forced to shell out £1,750.

‘You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place,’ Mr Reagan said. ‘The law is very ineffectual.’

Others have taken matters into their own hands, resorting to violence.

Last summer, a group of men were caught on video storming their house in the Spanish region of Murcia, threatening to beat the squatters their with iron bars if they did not leave.