The main professional sports leagues in North America have warned its athletes about the increasing threat posed by organized, high-tech burglary rings, whose preferred tools are 90-day calendars, passports, and advanced electronics.
Citing FBI intelligence, the NBA report directly connected the offenses to multinational South American Theft Groups that prey on high-net-worth persons, including prominent players. These organizations are renowned for employing sophisticated tactics including drones, signal-jamming devices, pre-surveillance, and other state-of-the-art equipment. The NFL emphasized the dangers of rich athletes being targeted by what it described as sophisticated and coordinated groups of burglars.
The warnings, which did not identify the victims, were sent out in response to previous burglaries at the residences of players, including Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks. The strategies outlined in the memos are remarkably similar to a spate of burglaries that targeted wealthy Southern Californians.
Criminals from Central and South America who lawfully enter the country on 90-day tourist visas under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) have been responsible for an increase in break-ins, according to federal and municipal officials in Los Angeles and Orange County. However, authorities claimed that these people are carrying disguises, recording equipment, trail cameras, and Wi-Fi jammers in addition to swimwear and sunscreen. To evade notice, they first target gated communities and affluent districts.
Although these burglary tourists have been operating for at least five years, their activities have gotten more intense recently due to the increased accessibility of address information and even property photos.
LAPD Chief of Detectives Alan Hamilton told NBC News on Friday that transnational gangs may not be fully aware of the property they are breaking into. However, there’s always a chance that these suspects are aware of their identities and keep an eye on the athletes’ whereabouts and social media activity.
According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, Mike Conley, a player for the Minnesota Timberwolves, had his house broken into in September when he was at an NFL game.
On November 3, Portis said on Instagram that his valuables had been taken from his house while his team was playing the day before.
In October, the residences of Mahomes and Kelce in Kansas City were broken into within hours of one another. A police report acquired by Kansas City’s NBC station, KSHB, states that the burglars damaged Kelce’s house by $1,000 and stole $20,000 in cash.
Mahomes has described the experience as unpleasant and disheartening.
Todd Spitzer, the district attorney for Orange County, told NBC News over the summer that the technology is entirely military-grade. Individuals with criminal histories from Chile have been arrested in Orange County.
Other cities including Dallas, Houston, and Chicago have also seen this tendency.
According to Hamilton, law enforcement has long identified this trend of crimes in the Midwest. They haven’t been immune to it, either.
Suspects connected to South American gangs have been found in almost every state, according to Hamilton, who said that law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have been pursuing these criminal networks for years.
Todd Spitzer, the district attorney for Orange County, told NBC News over the summer that the technology is entirely military-grade. Individuals with criminal histories from Chile have been arrested in Orange County.
Law enforcement in Southern California may be pushing more of these operations to other parts of the nation if they have made headway in lowering these offenses.
Players were advised by the NBA and NFL to take precautions like turning on security cameras and alarm systems, keeping valuables safe, and limiting their social media sharing.
According to the NBA letter that NBC News was able to receive on Friday, the FBI stated that the majority of the events involved homes with alarm systems that were not turned on. Additionally, according to the FBI, none of the houses were occupied, and most of them had no dogs.
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