Honestly, the story is 8/10 without an explanation, so I wouldn't ruin it with over sharing (Lol).
Seriously, though, the fish smell is what I was thinking about to.
I didn't even read the OP, and I already knew where this fuckery was going. So...
To paraphrase Glenn Beck, reasonable people don't need laws against stealing people's luggage from the lost and found. They won't do that whether there's a law or not.