Four Lion Air employees arrested for theft

Caught in the act: A porter working for Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest budget airline, opens passenger luggage before proceeding to take belongings, as seen in closed circuit television (CCTV) footage supplied by state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II. The footage was recorded at Terminal 1 of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in November 2015. (Kompas.com/Andri Donnal Putera)

Soekarto-Hatta International Airport police arrested four employees of the country'€™s biggest budget carrier Lion Air on suspicion of stealing passengers' possession from luggage, a police officer said on Monday.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr.Comr. Mohamamd Iqbal identified the perpetrators only as S, 22, and M, who worked as Lion Air baggage handlers and airline security officers A, 28, and H, 29.

"They opened the passengers' luggage and took the belongings in the airplane'€™s hull," he said as quoted by Antara news agency on Monday.

Iqbal explained that the police initially arrested A, H, and M on Dec. 18 after discovering their misconduct from closed circuit television (CCTV) footage recorded on Nov. 16.

Investigation of the three men revealed that they worked together to steal passengers' belongings. The police also arrested S in Kalideres, West Jakarta, on Monday.

S told investigators that he stolen goods from passengers' bags on 13 occasions in the past year. He reportedly stole a mobile phone from a passengers' bag on a plane operated by Batik Air -- a full service airline and subsidiary of Lion Group -- on Dec. 16.

Lion Air has been in the spotlight in recent years following cases related to the airliner. Known for delayed flights, the airline was recently in the spotlight over the arrest of three of its crew members on drug charges in December.

State airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) will tighten the security of passengers' luggage following the incident, according to the senior general manager of the firm, Zulfahmi.

He said on Monday that AP II would install more CCTVs throughout the airport. "We will strive to help airlines manage luggage theft," he said.

AP II will also coordinate with airlines and ground crew to improve services at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. (rin)