Apple’s AirTag item tracker has been the subject of a number of stories and the latest comes from an investigation in Florida. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office announced last week that AirTag data was used as part of its search to find the airline worker who stole thousands of dollars worth of checked luggage…
AirTag tracks down luggage thief
According to the statement from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, a traveler reported that her suitcase with more than $1,600 had not made it to her final destination after a flight into Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. That traveler, however, had an AirTag in her bag and noticed in the Find My app that it had last been activated in Mary Esther, Florida.
A second traveler flying into the same airport recently reported that his checked bag arrived at the final destination missing more than $15,000 worth of jewelry.
The investigators from the sheriff’s office used the airport’s database of employees to find those who lived within the vicinity of the location where the first victim’s AirTag had last been seen in the Find My App. This led the investigators to 19-year old Giovanni De Luca, an airline subcontractor at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport.
Once officers made contact with De Luca last week, he admitted to removing the AirTag from the first victim’s suitcase. He didn’t do this quickly enough, however, since the AirTag still helped investigators track him down. He has been charged with two counts of grand theft.
The police, however, have not yet been able to recover the $1,600 worth of items from the first victim’s suitcase. They did, however, recover the $15,000 dollars in jewelry that was stolen from the second victim’s suitcase.
“This arrest is an example of excellent teamwork by our Airport Security Unit, our Investigators, and the Airport to find the person responsible for these thefts and make sure he is held responsible,” said Sheriff Eric Aden.
This is yet another example of the many AirTag use cases that exist. Namely, it’s a great reminder that one of the best places to put an AirTag is in your checked luggage; and maybe a good reminder to put your AirTag in a discrete location in that luggage.
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