How Chilean Gangs Steal From America’s Ultra-Rich

Prosecutors called them the “Amazon” of organised crime.

The thieves, most of them from Chile, allegedly raked in millions of dollars as they criss-crossed the US, stealing Rolex watches, Gucci handbags, iPads and debit cards on what one source described as the “road-trip from hell”.

According to a federal complaint filed last year, the operation was run out of a Los-Angeles car dealership where ringleaders of the gang provided vehicles for the thieves.

In a single haul from a home in Missouri, gang members are accused of stealing 19 Rolex and Patek Philippe watches valued at £181,000 ($234,000), plus £7,700 ($10,000) in cash and £3,870 ($5,000) in gold bullion coins.

Law enforcement has arrested more than 130 suspected criminals with ties to the group, which they eventually penetrated through an FBI informant – but not before the gang allegedly garnered at least £3.9m ($5m) in illicit proceeds.

“These criminals were running a burglary operation with a sophistication that rivals Amazon… instead of dispatching delivery drivers, they were dispatching trained thieves throughout Southern California,” said Todd Spitzer, the Orange County district attorney.

Authorities believe the operation was just the tip of the iceberg, and that lax immigration rules provided a loophole for Chilean criminals to flood the US.

Tren de Aragua has emerged as the most infamous migrant gang in the US after footage was released of its members toting guns in Aurora, Colorado last year.

But as the vicious Venezuelan gangsters bear the brunt of the federal crackdown, Chilean criminals are quietly working behind the scenes.

Usually, they split into smaller cells of approximately five members – although they will coordinate with each other on larger jobs – which allows them to stay nimble, target multiple victims, maximise their profits and evade the authorities.

And if they do get broken up by law enforcement, then the damage is localised: there’s no head of the serpent to cut off.

At the same time, they are much more cautious than rival gangs, spending days scoping out houses to avoid potential confrontations.

While their movements have been recorded in states including Colorado, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and others, much of their activity is concentrated around California thanks to its soft-on-crime attitude.

The state’s star-studded neighbourhoods and wealthy enclaves make for rich pickings for the patient and calculating criminals.

In Orange County, where Mr Spitzer spent years waging war on Chilean crime rings, authorities have recovered camouflage ghillie suits used by gangsters to avoid the watchful eyes of neighbours as they camp out in the undergrowth to observe their targets.

One source said they had been known to rent Maseratis and other high-end cars to scope out neighbourhoods without drawing suspicion.

When they strike, they jam the home’s security cameras – most domestic CCTV needs an internet connection to work – and usually enter through a first-floor window into the master bedroom, which likely contains a safe.

The scores can total millions of dollars: but no target, seemingly, is too small.

In one home break-in being prosecuted by Orange County, a Chilean man is accused of taking a young girl’s birthday and Christmas money from her piggy bank.

Authorities believe that the gangs have thousands of members spread across the US. In Orange County alone, at least a hundred cases are being prosecuted or are under investigation.

But as sophisticated as these groups are, they’re not above making blunders.

Last month, seven Chilean men were charged with breaking into homes belonging to professional football players, including Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs star and boyfriend of singer Taylor Swift.

Professional athletes made for relatively easy targets because teams publish schedules of their fixtures in advance, relieving the need for constant observation to make sure the homes are empty.

The thieves are said to have approached the houses from cover – often a “wooded or dark area” – to break in through a window or using a crowbar to wedge into a sliding door.

In their brief crime spree, which is alleged to have taken place between October and December last year, they seized valuables, including sports memorabilia, worth more than £1.5m ($2m).

They are said to have used burner phones to communicate, which they swapped every month, and used fake driving licences to hire rental cars to avoid leaving a trail.

They were careful: but not careful enough for such a high-profile crime.

What undid the alleged gang in the end was a selfie taken minutes after the burglary of a house belonging to Milwaukee Bucks star Bobby Portis, obtained by a search warrant of an Apple iCloud account.

Two of the men were showing off a tray of expensive watches, flashing two fingers at the camera. A third had his foot on a damaged safe.

Chile is the only South American state which is part of the US’ visa waiver programme, which allows citizens of member countries to enter for 90 days at a time for just 16 ($21).

Although Chile notionally provides the US with criminal records of applicants, many claim visa rules are being exploited by gangs to flood the country with their footsoldiers.

Simon Hankinson, an immigration specialist with the Heritage Foundation think tank, is sceptical that the Chileans gang members have a clean criminal record when they come to the US.

“They’re not some punk-ass kids” he said, noting that they manage to dismantle high-tech home security systems.

Authorities have pushed the Trump administration to expel Chile from its visa waiver programme – so far without success, despite the US president’s tough-on-crime rhetoric and repeated vows to take on migrant gangs.

In the meantime, state law enforcement believe criminals are continuing to ride the coat-tails of the 350,000 Chileans who head to the US each year.

“They’re not going to Disneyland,” a source said. “They’re going to steal from the houses next door to Disneyland.”