An Atlanta police officer watched over the travelers' luggage at the airport. Then he spotted a man —- someone he had arrested before —- walking away from the Delta baggage claim carousel with two large bags.

When confronted, Willie Minter, 49, admitted the bags weren't his and offered an explanation: "Officer, I have a drug problem," he said, according to an Atlanta police report.

Baggage theft has been a problem at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in recent years. Between mid-May and the end of June, eight people including Minter were arrested at the world's busiest airport on charges of stealing luggage.

Airport officials say that's no more than usual. They could not provide statistics for baggage thefts, but it happens often enough that Atlanta police regularly go undercover to stake out baggage carousels.

"Things like this are basically crimes of opportunity," airport spokesman Herschel Grangent said. Baggage thieves are "going to blend in pretty well. They're just going to look like another passenger."

The majority of the thefts are committed by homeless people who lurk in the baggage claim area.

Some take public transportation to the airport, snatch people's bags and hop back on a train or bus, Grangent said. Others grab bags and make a beeline for a restroom, where they rifle through belongings, take whatever looks valuable and leave the bag behind.

"We do have repeat offenders that come back," Grangent said. "We're just doing our best to make sure we prosecute them the best way we can."

Larry Thomas, 36, of Decatur is one of them, according to Atlanta police. He was arrested in November 2007 on charges that he stole someone's baggage, according to a police report. On June 17, an Atlanta police officer watched Thomas remove a large black bag from a Delta baggage carousel and try to leave, the police report said.

The officer confronted Thomas and asked if he had a receipt for the two bags —- including one that came from an AirTran carousel —- with him. Thomas stuffed a hand in one of his pockets, then turned and made a run for it, the report said.

Police caught and arrested him. Thomas was charged with unlawful removal of bags and theft by taking —- the same charges against Minter —- and with criminal trespass. Thomas and Minter are both awaiting trial.

As officers were chasing Thomas, Andy Schwab, 30, of Newnan was at the Delta baggage carousel wondering where his luggage was. He and a colleague had just returned from a business and leisure trip to California.

A Delta staffer scanned his ticket and told him the baggage had already been put on the carousel, he said. Then another airport worker came over and told Schwab that police just stopped someone for stealing bags.

"I'll bet you it was yours," the Delta worker told Schwab.

They went to the airport's police substation, where Schwab was reunited with his luggage. Schwab's bag was not only filled with his clothes, but about $1,400 worth of motorcycle clothing and gear, he said.

"I was amazed that they stopped the guy," said Schwab, a mechanical engineer who travels often. "I was absolutely relieved to get my stuff back."

It's been about a decade since airlines stopped putting attendants at baggage carousels to check baggage claim tickets.

"It's something that has basically made it easier for criminals," Grangent said. "So we have to put other fail safes in place to keep that from happening."

If police don't catch baggage thieves in the act, officers can arrest suspected thieves for criminal trespassing at the airport, as long as they've been warned for trespassing once before.

It's difficult to know how often baggage theft happens, Grangent said. Many travelers whose bags turn up missing file a report with the airline, but don't file police reports. As a result, Atlanta police are trying to figure out a way to share information with air carriers, Grangent said.

From now on, though, Schwab is going to watch his luggage like a hawk.

"I'm going to be so much more aggressive now —- stand right there when they pop out," he said. "You have to be."