Airport trolley collector charged with bag thefts

An Auckland Airport trolley collector has been charged with stealing more than $20,000 worth of luggage over the past six years.

Apineru Tautiaga pleaded not guilty when he appeared in the Manukau District Court.

Police say Tautiaga, 34, stole the luggage while collecting trolleys in the airport's carpark by taking luggage from other people's trolleys and putting it on the one he was pushing.