In April 2025, Eduardo "Eddie" Salinas — an eleven-year United Airlines below-wing ramp agent at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas — pleaded guilty to theft of property between $30,000 and $150,000 by a person in a position of trust under Texas Penal Code § 31.03(e)(5), a third-degree felony elevated under § 31.03(f), and was sentenced to four years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, five years deferred adjudication probation, and full restitution of $46,180 to twenty-two named passengers. Salinas, who held a SIDA badge and master baggage key as lead agent on IAH's international transfer ramp, exploited a ninety-minute hardstand window during which bags from overnight United inbounds from Frankfurt, London, and Munich sat unattended before connecting to domestic feeder flights. Using a TSA-style master key, he identified designer luggage by hardware and branding while loading transfer carts, peeled targeted bags into a staged damaged-luggage bin, and rifled them inside a freight container between flight cycles. Over eight months in 2024, he removed three Hermès Birkin handbags, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch, a Loro Piana cashmere coat, a Dior Lady Dior bag, two Cartier bracelets, and assorted Louboutin and Chanel shoes — then liquidated the merchandise through a consignment account on The RealReal registered under his sister-in-law's name. The scheme unraveled when a passenger flying Houston to Denver noticed her Birkin missing on arrival and, three weeks later, spotted what she believed was her bag — identified by a distinctive scratch pattern and custom strap holes — listed for sale on The RealReal. She contacted United loss prevention, who engaged Houston Police and the FBI. A search of Salinas's home in Spring, Texas recovered a Cartier bracelet still in its boutique pouch, a TSA master-key set, and a spiral notebook on the kitchen counter listing twenty-two flight numbers alongside a column of dollar amounts totaled at the bottom and underlined twice. #unitedairlines #baggagetheft #airportcrime #designerbags #houstonpolice #arrested #fired #bodycam #investigation #airportworker #justice #policeaccountability