New criminal activity among baggage handlers

I am sure my reply will raise the hackles of some, but I now use the secure wrap services at the airport for my luggage. Environmentally unfriendly, yes - but having had a broken suitcase (on the previous trip), I knew my bag was tamper proof, waterproof and less likely to break.

I always photographour luggage before we check it, but now will photograph the Tag too. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks for the heads up! We’re flying to PDX in a week and checking one bag. I’ll use the advice to photo the tag.
My husband, how never travels, is actually going on the trip with me. Seeing friends, maybe for the last time (some are in their 80s), was the incentive.

Here's the problem though. You can wrap your luggage with whatever you want. And you can photo your luggage. But these drug smugglers aren't interested in your suitcase. They only care about the tag. They remove the tag, once it enters the baggage handling back stage areas, and put a different one on your bag. Then they take the original tag; the one that is linked to your ticket, that matches the stub you were given, and the one you may have photographed, and attach it to a suitcase full of drugs. Guess what happens at Customs if you are asked to open your bags. Surprise! It's full of drugs, and the tag matches the number associated with your ticket. Note that this has been a problem on international flights. Nothing like spending days or weeks in a foreign jail while you try to prove that the drug suitcase isn't yours.

According to the news program I saw, police are recommending that the only way to prove that you are innocent is to take a time stamped photo of the suitcase, with the tag clearly visible, and showing the weight of the suitcase on the checkin scale.

I always photographour luggage before we check it, but now will photograph the Tag too. Thanks for the heads up.

Same here. I read about this and decided next time I check a bag I will take a picture at the counter.

But anyone can put a tag with someone else name on it. At the end of the day, what matters is what is inside your original bag. Reason I always use a lock on it.

I agree with CJean. I don't think it matters if you wrap your bag up. What matters is where the tag is. Here's a description from the article of what they're doing.

According to W5, corrupt baggage or ramp workers allegedly remove luggage tags from unsuspecting passengers’ checked bags and reattach them to suitcases loaded with drugs. If the bags pass through customs undetected, criminal associates retrieve them at the destination. If authorities intercept the luggage, the traveller whose name appears on the tag may face the consequences.

And here is a list of things that they suggest doing to avoid this, or at least to protect yourself if you're stopped:

Before You Check Your Bag:

• Take photos or videos of your luggage before handing it over
• Photograph your baggage tag clearly, including the barcode and destination
• Record your luggage weight at check-in if possible
• Ensure baggage tags are securely attached before the bag disappears onto the conveyor belt
• Keep baggage receipts and claim tags until your trip is complete
• Use luggage trackers like AirTags to monitor bag movement
• Travellers may also want to avoid checking luggage unnecessarily when possible, especially on complex international itineraries.

Guess what happens at Customs if you are asked to open your bags. Surprise! It's full of drugs, and the tag matches the number associated with your ticket.

Isn't this the opposite of what happens ? O.e. your original bag stays your original bag, with your original stuff in it.

The bag tag with your info on it goes onto a totally different bag, with drugs in it.

Right ?

Isn't this the opposite of what happens ? O.e. your original bag stays your original bag, with your original stuff in it.

The bag tag with your info on it goes onto a totally different bag, with drugs in it.

Yes, your bag is still your bag, with your stuff in it. With a different tag that is not linked to your ticket. The tag that is linked to your ticket is now on a bag full of drugs. If that bag is intercepted by Customs or Police, it is your name linked to the bag. Innocent travelleres have had this happen at several foreign airports over the last few months. They have been jailed. And they've had to spend thousands on lawyers to prove their innocence.

PS - the previous recommendation to put an Air tag in the bag is a good one. It helped one woman get out of jail.

The other big problem in all this is: how are these suitcases full of drugs getting into the secure areas of airports.
There appear to be many layers of this, beginning with the baddies turning a deliberate blind eye, who are letting the bags into airports, then the ones switching the tags and bags, then the ones receiving the drugs in another part of the world.
Definitely organised crime in a very big way.

And I’m connecting in Pearson on my next trip….have to check a bag as I’m going overseas to a wedding and need more clothes than I usually bring. 🤨

I will photograph the contents before leaving home..
Then photograph the tag on the bag with me in the photo next to it.
Sorry if you’re behind me in the line and I’m holding you up!
Also a pic of the weight on the checkin scale.
Don’t touch the tag if possible so my fingerprints are not on it.
AirTag inside.
Keep all receipts.

Wrapping is a good idea…better a bit more plastic out there than time in jail.
Anything else you can think of?

But, as CJean said……your own bag doesn’t matter a jot….the tag is the important part in all this.😢

With the secure wrap services, you are given a tracking code. Baggage handlers indulging in criminal behaviour will target suit cases which are less obvious - well that is what I have read on travel blogs. Also, wouldn’t the suitcases have to be identical, I.e. your bag and the drug filled bag looking the same, otherwise, why would you collect it off the baggage carousel? Plus, if you have an Apple tracker in your suitcase, linked to your phone, surely you would be able to locate your suitcase if you did pick up the drug bag by mistake, because, presumably your bag is still in the airport somewhere?

I don’t understand the movement of drugs from Canada to these other countries. I would think it’s more likely to be the other way around.
What about the original suitcases? Are they ever found?

Elizabeth. I must be a bit thick as I am curious how the baggage handlers are able to bring in suitcases of drugs in the first place at the Toronto airport in order to change baggage tags before placing the bags on aircraft

Baggage handlers and other airport/airline staff facilitating the smuggling of drugs through an airport is very common and extremely old news. Anywhere there is a border there is going to be crime and corruption despite the best efforts of law enforcement.

When I started my job I was given a behind the scenes tour of Heathrow and that was definitely an eye opener. I’m not going to go into detail here but nothing in that article surprises me other than it’s an interesting range of countries the drugs are being shipped on to.

One issue law enforcement has is how easily staff such as baggage handlers can hold an airport to ‘ransom’. Even a short, unofficial ‘downing of tools’ in response to investigation activity can cause havoc.

Maybe I'm the outlier here, but I am looking at this with a dose of frustration. What jumps out to me is that the article fails to mention a single internal arrest, charge, or prosecution in Canada. It completely left out major context like the fact that the RCMP actually arrested and charged two veteran Swissport baggage handlers (with 21 and 25 years of seniority) for this scheme at YYZ. Or that there have been at least 6 ramp and baggage handlers arrested for this tag scheme over the past year.

By omitting the arrests, the article makes it seem like a spooky, unsolved mystery.

https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/2025/07/17/two-toronto-baggage-handlers-charged-after-allegedly-trying-to-smuggle-147k-worth-of-cannabis-to-france/