The friend of a baggage handler accused of stealing more than $300,000 in cash from New York's JFK Airport has been arrested.

Emmanuel Asuquo Okon, 33, of Queens, was taken into custody over the weekend in connection with the theft, according to authorities.

Quincy Thorpe, 40, a Delta Air Lines baggage handler walked free on $80,000 bail on Thursday after a friend bailed him out following his arrest by FBI on suspicion of stealing the cash.

His friend, Okon, is not employed by the airport but is accused of helping him after one of eight bags of money went missing on Tuesday.

Scroll down for video

A second man has been arrested in connection with the theft of more than $300,000 in cash from New York's JFK Airport

The $258,200 - plus more in foreign currency - disappeared as the bags scanned by Thorpe were being loaded onto the aircraft in New York and was due land in Miami on Wednesday morning.

Thorpe was allegedly caught on camera taking one of the bags from an armored car and loading it onto a container instead of on the flight, according to documents in a Downtown Brooklyn federal court.

The Delta Ground Services worker - who had gone home sick around the time of the apparent theft - was seen leaving court on Thursday wearing a hooded top and accompanied by a friend carrying a briefcase. But the stolen money is still missing.

It was only when Flight 1225 landed in south Florida on Wednesday morning that it became apparent the bag was missing.

Delta baggage handler Quincy Thorpe was arrested for allegedly stealing a bag that contained $300,000 cash. He's seen leaving a Downtown Brooklyn federal court on Thursday

Thorpe was detained at his New York City home on Thursday and appeared in Downtown Brooklyn's federal court that afternoon to answer for the missing bag that was swiped from the tarmac.

The missing bag and money has still not been recovered but the the suspect was released on $80,000 bond paid for by a friend, according to ABC 7.

'We arrested a subject at his residence earlier this morning in Brooklyn,' a representative for the FBI said in a statement. 'Charges are pending.'

Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta said in a statement: 'The alleged actions of this employee are unacceptable and in no way reflect the professionalism and values we expect from Delta team members.

A friend paid his $80,000 bail on Thursday and Thorpe (left) was released from custody

'We are taking this situation very seriously and working directly with authorities on their investigation as well as conducting an internal investigation of our own.'

The apparent theft is far from the first time significant sums of money have vanished from the city's airport.

On December 11, 1978, six masked gunman stole $5 million in cash and $1 million in jewelry from the Lufthansa Terminal at JFK Airport.

It took the gang - which was linked to the Lucchese crime family - 64 minutes to steal the packets of cash, toss them into a van and escape.

At the time, it was the biggest cash heist ever in the United States. The stolen $5 million would be worth $17.9 million in 2013 dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The crime stumped investigators for years, but a break in the case came in 2013 during a search that turned up human remains buried at the former home of James 'Jimmy the Gent' Burke.

After 30 years, the FBI were finally able to charge members of the New York mafia with the heist at JFK - which was made famous by the movie Goodfellas.