Items taken from bags coming back into USA
Replies: 16 - Last Post: Oct 4, 2012 5:30 AM Last Post By: eddystonelightk...
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Items taken from bags coming back into USA
I'm curious if anyone knows why our items from Costa Rica & Panama were taken from our bags without us being told, during our return into the USA.We had about 4 rings, 2 necklaces, & 2 shot glasses between 2 bags that weren't in our bags when we got back to the States. No one said anything to us & nothing is missing that wasn't from Costa Rica or Panama. We flew out from San Jose Costa Rica to Houston TX. The only thing left in my bag that I bought in Costa Rica was a piece of clothing, everything else I bought was gone & a few items from my partners bag were gone too, but a few items were still there in her bag, like shot glasses, which is odd cause they took the shot glasses from my bag.
I would think that if it was theft they would have taken things that were worth more money, but only the cheap rings, necklaces, & shot glasses were removed. So is this a customs thing, was it taken out in Costa Rica or in the States? Who knows!
Edited by: halcyon026
1
First, your post is very confusing to read. Second, what airline? Lastly, Customs does not take things from people bags, if they inspect a bag, they will seal it and put tape on it to show they inspected it.Baggage Handlers are most likely the culprits. You should of filed a claim right there at the airport.
Never put valuables in checked bags, always carry on, that is 101.
3
I'll try to explain better.Myself & my partner had a few souvenirs from Costa Rica & Panama in our bags during our return trip from Costa Rica. When we got back home & started unpacking we noticed most of those souvenirs were missing but nothing that wasn't a souvenir was missing.
We flew on United.
We didn't realize anything was missing while we were at the airport. We didn't go through our stuff until we got home to unpack. It wasn't appealing after 12 hours of traveling & landing at midnight to go through our stuff in the airport to see if anything was missing.
The items that were taken were only worth about $5 each, I'd hardly consider them valuables. That's why I question if it was theft. If someone was stealing from us, they could have taken more valuable things. It's because of that reason & because the only things taken were from out of the country that I wondered if it was a customs thing.
4
A thief without a lot of time is just going to quickly rummage through your bag and take whateverlooks like it might possibly be valuable. Dishonest ramp workers out of range of the cameras will just grab
small items and figure out what they filched later on. Never, ever check-in any electronics or jewelry.
Carry it on.
7
You're right it is a strange one because holiday souvenir trinkets are not normally targeted by dodgy baggage handlers in any country (they are adept at knowing what they want). Its also true that if customs remove items not suitable for import (necklaces made out of seeds?) they leave a notification to that fact. Was there any other sign that the bags had been opened and rummaged through?....otherwise maybe you did just leave them behind....11
Thieves in CA steal strange things. We had a rental house broken into in CR once and they stole weird things like 2 pairs of $5.00 reading glasses, a baseball cap, US shampoo and deodorant etc. Of course they used a Nike sports bag we had to haul the goodies off in. They did steal a lot of valuable stuff too but we were amazed at the weird things they took. They actually left over $10.00 in cash that was sitting on a table in open view. Go figure. Maybe my thief got a job as a baggage handler.12
I was broken into this year when I was out for supper. They took some loose change but left a 40oz jug of Flor De Cana 7 that was next to the coins.They also went thru a picnic bag that only had plastic plates and cutlery in it...yes BOOMER1, it was the bag you gave me. I guess it looked like a camera bag. They have a lot of homework to do if they expect to become career criminals.
13
Eddie with a Y and I never crossed paths, as we had to get a move on it from Terre Huate to Evansville...but we almost fell into a skech stich at Whoopie Cat Lake....talk about off the grid...The trip was success, nice hiking there.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2255736&messageID=20346775#20346775
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