Serial in-flight thief arrested after taking 200 flights in a year to steal passengers’ valuables

A  40-year-old man was taken into custody for allegedly stealing jewellery and other valuables from fellow passengers' handbags on several flights on May 13, according to the police. 

The police stated that Rajesh Kapoor, the accused, took at least 200 flights and went for more than 110 days in order to perpetrate thefts in the previous year.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani announced during a press conference at the IGI airport that Kapoor had been taken into custody from Paharganj, where it was purported he had been storing the stolen valuables. 

She claimed that he intended to sell them to Sharad Jain, a 46-year-old Karol Bagh resident who has also been arrested. 

According to Rangnani, two distinct theft incidences on two different planes were recorded in the last three months, and an IGI Airport squad was constituted specifically to find the offenders. 

On April 11, a traveller from Hyderabad to Delhi misplaced jewels valued at Rs 7 lakh. On February 2, there was another theft recorded; this time, a passenger flying from Amritsar to Delhi reported losing jewellery items valued at Rs 20 lakh.

Rangnani said that during investigations, CCTV footage from Delhi and Amritsar airports and the flight manifests were analysed.

A suspect was shortlisted as he was seen on both flights on which theft incidents were reported, she said.

The officer claimed that although the suspected passenger had given a false phone number when making the reservation, the phone number had been retrieved from the relevant airlines. 

Following technological monitoring, Kapoor's first phone number was located, leading to his capture. 

He admitted to being engaged in five of these cases, including one in Hyderabad, after being questioned for a long time, according to the police.

He disclosed that he spent most of the cash on online and offline gambling.

Kapoor was found involved in 11 cases of theft, gambling and criminal breach of trust, out of which five cases were of airports.

Another police officer said Kapoor would target vulnerable passengers, particularly elderly women travelling internationally.