A 68-year-old Brazilian gynecologist was arrested on Sunday at the Miami International Airport for allegedly opening other people's luggage in the baggage claim area and stealing passengers' belongings, according to several local media.
The suspect has been identified as Marcos Danilo Assuncao-Oliveira, who faces three counts of third-degree grand theft, a felony in Florida that can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison.
What the cameras captured
The incident occurred last Friday in the carousel area of American Airlines.
Surveillance cameras recorded Assuncao-Oliveira lurking in the area before beginning to take suitcases from different conveyor belts.
According to the arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, the suspect “was taking several pieces of luggage from different carousels, opening them, taking what was inside, and then putting the luggage back on the carousel.”
The authorities specified that he repeated the process several times and left the airport on foot with the stolen items.
The total value of the stolen items was estimated to be approximately 1,350 dollars.
Three victims have been identified, although investigators do not rule out the possibility that there are more affected passengers.
The contrast between the police report and his professional records in Brazil
The case presents a detail that has drawn attention: although the police report lists Assuncao-Oliveira as a person without a fixed residence in Miami, Brazilian medical websites identify him as a gynecologist with a private practice in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, with professional registration number CRMMG 14373.
Another element noted in the police report is that the suspect had no flight records with American Airlines in the six months prior to the incident.
The report did not explain why it was in that area of the airport.
During their appearance before a judge this Monday, the bail was initially set at 1,100 dollars.
However, later records from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center —where he was held until Tuesday afternoon— indicated that the amount rose to 7,500 dollars.
Airport authorities and local police have requested that any passenger who has noticed lost belongings in the American Airlines area contact the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office to assist with the investigation.
Increase in thefts at Miami airport
The arrest of the Brazilian doctor adds to a series of similar cases recorded at Miami Airport in recent months.
Just days before, an employee of the contractor Eulen was arrested in Hialeah for selling a Cartier Santos watch that had been left behind by a passenger for just 1,500 dollars, while its actual value ranged between 5,900 and over 12,000 dollars.
In mid-August, 41-year-old James Dickson Silk was arrested after confessing that he had been living inside the airport and had stolen a suitcase containing nearly $9,000 worth of belongings in the American Airlines area.
In July, two men were arrested for stealing over $27,000 in luggage from the airport carousels.
In all these cases, surveillance cameras have been the key instrument for identifying suspects and reconstructing their modus operandi.
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