‘Burglary tourists’ from Chile now target wealthy in the US
SOPHISTICATED South American “burglary tourists” are flying into Los Angeles to target homes in wealthy neighbourhoods, police have warned.
The gangs, known in Chile as lanzas internacionales (international thieves), have also robbed residents in Michigan and New York, police added.
The crime phenomenon has caused concern on both sides of the Atlantic after the South American thieves were already blamed for a spate of burglaries in wealthy London suburbs.
In recent weeks, police in Los Angeles arrested a 17-year-old from Chile and two adults, who were allegedly responsible for a string of burglaries in east Hollywood.
Chileans – and other South American criminals – are believed to have carried out hundreds of burglaries in Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties, police in California said. “They often target homes connected to open spaces, hiking trails and canyons that give them access,” said Alan Hamilton, the deputy chief of the LA Police Department.
The burglars are careful not to carry guns so they can avoid facing more serious weapons charges if they are arrested, he told the Los Angeles Times.
Police in Michigan tell a similar story. “This group is very methodical,” said Sheriff Michael Bouchard, of Orange County.
“The robbers have used things like trackers on cars, they’ve used trail cams to … determine when you’re coming and going.”
Such is the sophistication of the thieves that one gang leader, who was allegedly running a team in Los Angeles, used a fake passport to set up a Bank of America account that he used to wire home $23,000 (£18,000).
In 2022, the FBI set up a task force to tackle the gangs.
Victims in Britain have included Marcus Wareing, the celebrity chef. Gangs have also targeted the Cheshire stockbroker belt that is popular with many Premier League footballers.
Tomasz Kuszczak, the Manchester United goalkeeper, watched in horror on his phone as his CCTV cameras relayed footage of a gang plundering his home there.
Police in Nassau County, New York, broke up one of several gangs operating in the New York area in 2020.
Chileans without visas can enter the US for 90 days on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) scheme for tourists and this has made it easier for them to travel to North America.
According to Todd Spitzer, the Orange County District Attorney, the Chilean government has refused to provide the US with the criminal history of its nationals who use the ESTA system.
Their activities will help fuel presidential candidate Donald Trump’s claims that South Americans are responsible for a crime wave in the US.