Dubai: A Turkish businessman flying economy aboard an Emirates flight en route to Hong Kong appears to be the latest victim in a rash of high-level thefts on inbound flights to the Far East destination.
An Emirates spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the airline is probing the man’s complaint that he lost nearly $260,000 in cash and goods.
The Turkish watch trader filed a police complaint in Hong Kong on Monday.
“Emirates is working closely with the police department and providing information to assist with their investigation. There will be no further comments at this time from Emirates on what is an ongoing investigation,” an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Gulf News on Tuesday.
According to media reports, the trader lost two watches and cash while flying into Hong Kong from Dubai.
The theft is the latest in a long string of thefts from carry-on luggage aboard numerous airlines flying into Hong Kong in the last five years, crimes attributed to sophisticated crime syndicates who are targeting high-wealth individuals in flight.
Hong Kong Police figures revealed that from 2011 to mid-2015, there were 222 thefts of jewellery, cash and smartphones on flights into Hong Kong with losses estimated at roughly $8.88 million (Dh32.32 million).
“In one or two cases we have made arrests, we do not see a link developing into syndicates who commit overhead compartment thefts, but we cannot rule out this possibility of organised crime,” an airport police intelligence source said in a August 2015 report by South China Morning Post.
Hong Kong investigators warned travellers to keep an eye on personal goods to avoid becoming victims.
“Travellers should ensure their valuables and cash are with them and should not store these items in the overhead lockers,” police said at the time.
Thieves may be targeting well-to-do travellers flying from the Gulf region to the Far East.
The Jakarta Post reported late last year that four Chinese men were questioned following a Qatar Airways flight from Doha in which passengers complained that their bags had been pilfered.
The suspects were alleged to have moved and then searched four bags in the overhead compartment when other passengers were sleeping. Authorities questioned the Chinese nationals as to whether they belonged to a crime syndicate.
