Tourists Must Keep Close Eye On Luggage At Bali Airport 

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Tourists arriving and departing through Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport are encouraged to keep a close eye on their belongings.

The updates come as Bali Police successfully arrested an online taxi driver who was caught stealing luggage. 

Badung Police have confirmed the arrest of a 43-year-old taxi driver in Bali who was found to have stolen luggage containing IDR 30 million worth of belongings from a tourist who had just touched down on the island. 

Speaking to reporters I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Area Police Chief AKBP I Ketut Widiarta, said “The motive is that the perpetrator wanted to get a reward from the owner [by later ‘finding’ the bag], but if he doesn’t take it, he will use the stolen items himself.”

The contents of the victim’s bag included a Macbook Air M1, a Gen 9 iPad along with an Apple pencil, Perisol brand glasses, three chargers and one set of Apple AirPods. 

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The traveler arrived at Bali Airport domestic arrivals terminal at around 9.30 pm on Thursday, 29th February.

He walked out to the taxi pick-up area and hailed an online taxi. It’s reported that as he was trying to locate his pick-up spot, he stepped away from his bag momentarily, and as he turned to pick his bag up, the thief had already swiped his backpack away. 

The traveler immediately alerted the terminal support staff and was able to track his bag using Apple’s ‘Find My’ app. The bag and the thief were located just outside the airport, around the corner on Jalan Imam Bonjol. 

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All the items have been returned to the victim, and the taxi driver is now awaiting further proceedings.

AKP Widiarta said “Currently the perpetrator has been named a suspect in the Theft and/or Embezzlement Case as regulated in Article 362 of the Criminal Code and/or 372 of the Criminal Code.”

The case comes as a timely reminder to all tourists to keep an eye on their belongings at all times.

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While Bali Police and officials from Bali Airport work around the clock to eliminate criminals from operating in the area, opportunistic thieves always seem to slip through the net and will take every chance they get.

It is so easy to lose focus for just a second while looking at a phone, signs, or searching for a familiar face in the crowd when arriving at Bali Airport. 

Tourists must keep all bags zipped up and avoid keeping valuable items in their pockets, especially phones in their back pockets; it’s so easy for a thief just to pluck the phone as someone walks by.

The other place to be particularly mindful is in the bathrooms.

On many occasions, tourists have put their phones on the surfaces while using the facilities, walked away, forgot their phones or headphones for just a couple of seconds, and turned around to find the phone gone.

It has to be said that staff and police operating in and around Bali Airport do act fast when they get a report of theft.

There is an underlying misconception that there is no point trying to recover stolen items or even report them because ‘if it’s gone, it’s gone’.

When in reality, if victims report crime as quickly as possible then Bali Police and security have a higher chance of finding the person or people responsible before they move out of the area.

Looking at reports over the last year or so, it appears that the most likely time and place to become a victim of crime in Bali Airport is in the arrivals area.

Tourists landing at either Bali Airport’s domestic or international arrivals terminals don’t need to be in panic mode, but they certainly need to keep their eyes open and wits about them during the time they spend between the doors opening into the pick-up area and getting into their taxis and transfer vehicles.