For years, people have lamented having their luggage broken into while in transit at airports and media personality, Maps Maponyane was the latest person to fall victim to this crime.

Upon getting to his destination, Maps took to Twitter to let his followers know what had happened to him.

“My luggage bag got broken into at OR Tambo. What they stole: A pair of shoes, a t-shirt, a bucket hat and a toothbrush – yes, a toothbrush,” tweeted Maps.

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He even joked about the situation, speculating why the culprit may have wanted to take such specific items.

“My theory is that mans had a date or something and needed all these things to complete his fit and be fresh for it,” he added.

Maps is actually quite a neat freak so one can only imagine what his luggage already looked like after he packed it and the state in which his things were left seems to be what annoyed him most.

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In 2019, Times Live reported a spike in baggage tampering in the last quarter of the year leading up to the festive season.

Ahead of the international lockdown at the beginning pandemic, it was estimated that at least two bags were broken into per day at OR Tambo International airport.

The most popular item that baggage thieves tend to take? Cologne. During a segment on her show on 702, consumer journalist Wendy Knowler spoke to airport general manager Bongiwe Pityi-Vokwana who revealed that fragrances topped the list of items frequently reported missing.

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Maps Maponyane’s tweet prompted followers to start sharing their own luggage theft experiences.

According to their tweets, they lost everything from sneakers and phone chargers to smartwatches and miscellaneous clothing items.

The airport even reached out to Maps in an effort to remedy the situation.

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By Kaunda Selisho