Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport police have arrested an airport employee on suspicion of stealing an iPad worth $600.
Frederica Williams, 35, of Dallas, was arrested in a police sting operation Friday morning in Terminal C.
"Our Department of Public Safety at DFW [Airport] was working with airline security personnel and companies working on the airport to try to investigate certain instances where lost-and-found items weren't being processed properly by certain employees that were under suspicion," airport spokesman David Magana said.
The airport said an iPad left out as bait was not turned in to lost and found during the sting.
"This was not a case of an item stolen from a passenger," Magana said. "It was not an item that was in a passenger's possession. It was a bait item that we used in this operation."
Williams was one of many people at the airport employed by Prospect Airport Services, a company hired by airlines for a number of baggage and other services -- including help with lost-and-found items.
"We are aware that there are allegations of theft activity," Prospect Airport Services said in a statement Monday. "We are fully cooperating with American Airlines corporate security and the DFW Airport police."
DFW airport officials say travelers should keep valuables with them at all times.
Three other people who worked at DFW Airport have been arrested on suspicion of theft in the past 16 months.
Henry Ibarra, a former member of an American Airlines clean-up crew, was arrested in August 2010.
Police seized 171 items from his house valued at $7,500. He is accused of stealing items such as iPods, DVD players and cameras off planes and from luggage.
Ibarra worked for American for 41 years.
In September 2010, police arrested Denmark Masumoto, an 11-year employee of American Airlines, on suspicion of stealing a passenger's laptop.
Police said they found numerous items commonly stolen from travelers' luggage and from planes inside his Euless home.
An American Eagle baggage handler was arrested on suspicion of stealing jewelry from travelers' luggage in August 2011.
