Thief steals $17K from limo driver dropping off passenger at Bush Airport

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A limo driver believes he was followed for more than an hour after leaving a bank near the Galleria and robbed of $17,000.

"Why (do) they do this?" Nabil Alkhaldi asked. "Why (do) they steal people's money? They (stole) my future. They steal everything like I'm nothing."

On July 7, Alkhaldi went to the Wells Fargo Bank on San Felipe and Post Oak and withdrew a large sum of cash. From there, he went to pick up a woman and her baby and drove them to Bush Intercontinental Airport. They arrived at the airport's terminal B at about 4 p.m.

"We get there safely," Alkhaldi said. "I try to do my job,(unload) her luggage, help her with the baby. As soon as I finish with her, I go to my car and try to reach my lunchbox to get a bite."

His lunchbox was in his trunk. As he was grabbing it, he said he saw someone inside the front of his car. Alkhaldi said that person jumped into a Kia Soul that was parked in front of him and sped off.

The entire incident was captured on surveillance video at the airport.

His car had been ransacked and the $17,000 in his center console were gone.

"(Police) told me, 'You're supposed to shut your car and lock your car before you leave,'" Alkhaldi said. "I told them, 'I'm going 30 feet back and forth.' Do I need to shut my car for that? I've been doing this for 30 years. This is the first time this has happened to me."

Alkhaldi moved to America from Jordan more than two decades ago to make a better life for his family.

"I saw some of my (neighbors). They come to this country and they are successful and they flipped their family life upside-down," Alkhaldi explained.

The money that was taken was supposed to go to his wife in Jordan who just had their baby. The rest of it belonged to a friend who, he said, feels unsafe where he lives and had entrusted Alkhaldi to hold it for him. Now, the limo driver will have to reimburse him.

"We come all the way from 19 hours flying, because we believe in this country, because we believe this is the land of opportunity," Alkhaldi said. "We are here to make a living. We are here to pay tax. We pay tax."

Alkhaldi admitted he cried after the money was taken from him, but said he will work to earn it back. Now, he is pleading with Houston police to find the suspects.

"I just need your help, if you can," Alkhaldi said. "I don't need no money help. I don't need financial help. Don't get me wrong. I just need help to catch those people."

Houston police said they are aware of the case and are continuing to investigate.

A GoFundMe account was set up for Alkhaldi after the community reached out wanting to help him.

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