MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County's inspector general said, for years, some airport workers have scammed the system by using disabled parking permits to take spots reserved for disabled travelers so that they wouldn't have to pay a parking fee.

It was all caught on tape.

According to the inspector general, when people walk at a fast pace to their vehicle or carry heavy bags, they're probably not disabled.

"The question on whether they were indeed disabled and able to walk 100 feet is certainly suspect," Miami-Dade County Inspector General Chris Mazzella said.

Many Miami International Airport employees have disabled parking placards and use them in the airport's short-term lot.

"When people who are legitimately disabled wanted to park at the airport, they ended up having to park on the roof because the disabled parking spaces were already occupied by employees of the airline," Mazzella said.

The scam limits revenues for the various parking lots around MIA, he said.

"It cost the county alone about a $1.5 million just at the airport," Mazzella said.

Airport officials notified the inspector general's office when they first discovered something was wrong.

"About a year ago, we saw a spike in the number of disabled, people with disabilities, permits being used in the parking garage," Greg Chin from MIA said.

MIA has an employee parking lot with disabled spaces. The inspector general found that those spots were left empty day after day.

"We're saddened if this caused any inconvenience to people who legitimately had disabilities, whether it be employees or passengers, because those spots were taken by people who didn't have disabilities," Chin said.

The airport said they're going to look at the surveillance and the inspector general's report and proceed on a case-by-case basis. However, regardless if the employees were disabled or not, they were parking illegally so they will face some sort of fine.