6 charged in JFK airport mail cargo theft

NEW YORK -- Authorities have charged six people in a scheme to steal mail containing an estimated $250,000 in cash at New York's Kennedy Airport.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said on Tuesday that three of the defendants were cargo handlers who targeted international flights transporting mail with foreign currency. They said the crew would use currency exchange businesses at JFK to convert their haul into U.S. dollars.

The case is the latest targeting rip-offs of cash and merchandise by cargo handlers at JFK and LaGuardia airports. There have been 12 other arrests.

Agents nabbed the latest defendants on Tuesday morning. They were to appear in court later in the day.