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Russian Baggage Handlers Detained Over Theft at St. Petersburg Airport

Airport police have detained six baggage handlers suspected of stealing items from the luggage of international flight passengers at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, the regional branch of the transport police said in a statement Wednesday.

The stolen items included mobile phones and other gadgets, as well as expensive cosmetics, food and alcoholic drinks, according to the police.

The handlers allegedly targeted bags destined for Central Asia because they thought the owners would be less likely to complain to the police, the statement said.

The suspects, whose names were not disclosed, are aged from 23 to 38 and live in the Leningrad region that surrounds St. Petersburg, Russia's second city.

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