A cargo handler at Miami International Airport was arrested after authorities said he stole $1.2 million worth of cellphones that were being sent to Colombia.
Eduardo Miguel Rivera-Paz, 37, was arrested Sunday on multiple grand theft charges, an arrest report said.
According to the report, a corporate security official from DHL Express had reported the theft on Friday.
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The $1.2 million worth of Samsung phones had arrived at DHL and were heading to Bogota, Colombia, but never made it.
The security official had reviewed surveillance footage that showed Rivera-Paz, an employee of ground cargo handling company Worldwide Flight Services, taking photos and videos of the boxes of phones, the report said.
The phones had been loaded into a secured aluminum box, and the video showed Rivera-Paz and another man near the box, the report said.
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The other man was later seen using a forklift to remove the aluminum box, which was loaded onto a trailer, the report said.
Rivera-Paz was later seen removing and then returning the aluminum box, the report said.
When the box reached Bogota, it was discovered that all the phones had been removed and replaced with sandbags to mimic the weight of the phones, the report said.
Rivera-Paz, of Miramar, was booked into jail, where he remained held on $300,000 bond Monday, Miami-Dade jail records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
