Warnings abound about hi-tech “burglary tourists” after professional athletes have had their homes targeted in recent weeks.
The homes of NBA players Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and NFL players, including Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have been robbed but not by the average criminal.
“Forget about old-school masked housebreakers carrying swag bags. These crooks are closer to the Ocean’s Eleven movies, using drones, camo suits, and wifi jammers to blitz the mansions of multi-millionaires,” the Daily Mail reported. “They’ve struck the homes of NFL players when athletes are on the field, raising fears of more break-ins over Thanksgiving, when the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys, and others will be playing to packed stadiums.”
NEW: South American gangs are targeting the mansions of NFL and NBA players for burglary.
“…because team schedules are public knowledge, it’s easy for these burglary rings, most coming in from South America, to know when the players will be gone, and some may already be under… pic.twitter.com/bbag3O2Ukk
— jay plemons (@jayplemons) November 29, 2024
A wave of burglaries by South American gangs, including violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua, have spread across the nation thanks to lax security at the border courtesy of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We are a long way from getting on top of this,” security expert Michael Barbieri told the Daily Mail.
“This is the work of an international cartel with extremely intelligent individuals who use drones, GPS trackers, and surveillance. All of this doesn’t happen by accident,” he added.
Professional sports leagues have been warning their teams about the crimes, noting that their homes may be targeted when they are away traveling for games.
Police in multiple states investigating whether a South American home invasion robbery gang is behind the burglaries of star athletes Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and the Wisconsin home of Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis. Home invasion robbery gang detected… pic.twitter.com/D9fAwUgerD
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) November 21, 2024
“The Kansas City homes of Mahomes and Kelce were raided hours apart in early October when the Chiefs were hosting the New Orleans Saints,” the outlet noted. “Burglars made off with $20,000 in cash and caused $1,000 in damage to Kelce’s home, a police report obtained by NBC shows.”
Mahomes said it was “something that you don’t want to happen to really anybody but obviously yourself,” while Portis said in the November 2nd burglary at his place “most of my prized possessions” were targeted.
Barbieri told the Daily Mail that the criminals had help from someone on the “inside,” noting how thieves entered the gated community and the homes without anyone being suspicious.
“He suspects that electricians, housemaids, plumbers, or other tradespeople have worked on a rich person’s property and then sold security details to a cartel, who organize a raid,” the outlet reported. “This involves using drones or surveilling properties by posing as joggers or ground maintenance staff to work out how to enter the property and when it will be empty, said Barbieri.”
“When you let 15 or 20 million people across the border without proper vetting, you’re obviously going to get these gang members,” Barbieri said. “Now we’re suffering the consequences of an open border.”
NFL players were advised through a bulletin to the team to secure their homes and avoid posting about their valuables or their activities away from home. They also suggested taking down any real estate photos depicting their properties.
Warnings of “well-organized, sophisticated rings” of criminals based out of South America were noted in an alert from the National Basketball Association. The warnings come amid an increase in crimes by South American gangs across the nation that have spiked in recent months.
(Video Credit: NBC News)
The so-called burglary tourists reportedly arrive in the U.S. through a visa waiver program and come to the properties armed with gear to break into mansions and other properties.
“The TdA is a state-sponsored transnational criminal organization that is empowering criminal networks throughout Latin America and bringing this advanced form of criminality to the US,” Joseph Humire, director of the Center for a Secure Free Society think tank, told the Daily Mail.
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