A German tourist has been arrested after he stole a British holidaymaker's suitcase from an airport baggage carousel.<br /><br />Michael Joerg, 39, was seen on CCTV lifting the woman's black medium-sized case onto his trolley before wheeling it away at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 13. <br /><br />The victim told airport staff that her case was missing and they identified the thief from surveillance cameras. He left the airport in a taxi and an arrest warrant was issued. <br /><br />Joerg was finally detained after he tried to leave the country through a border checkpoint in Trat, southern Thailand last Saturday (January 19) more than a month after the crime.<br /><br />Officials detained the German and he was driven back to the airport where he confessed to making off with the British woman's suitcase. <br /><br />He told police that he had performed the same theft several times before and would ''sell the valuables and keep the money''.<br /><br />He said: ''This is the first time that I have been caught. I have stolen suitcases before and then left and re-entered the country to do it again.''<br /><br />Joerg told police he had always targeted dark suitcases that were hard to identify. Police believe that is how he had evaded capture in the past.<br /><br />The German now faces charges of ''stealing from an airport'' which is punishable with a prison term of between one year and five years and/or a fine of between 20,000 baht and 100,000 baht.
