in the desert around scottsdale, ariz., on monday, police officers hunted for a member of an international heist ring suspected of swiping jewels and luxury goods from homes across los angeles. using helicopters and drones, they eventually found him hiding under a tree.
“the wanted man, it turned out, was a 17-year-old from chile,” stated the authorities.
authorities say the teenager and his two adult accomplices later admitted to breaking into multiple homes, part of a growing trend of “burglary tourism” from south america.
the los angeles police department said the teenage fugitive was first arrested feb. 29 in pacific palisades along with three other chileans as they cased homes in the wealthy enclave. police tracked down the crew after a security camera captured the license plate of their 2024 hyundai tucson amid a series of burglaries across east hollywood.
increasingly over the last five years, police officials say, thieves from south american nations have entered the us for the purpose of committing robberies. “in the case of chile, authorities suspect some criminals are taking advantage of the tourist visa system, which does not require a background check for travelers,” they stated. once in the country, police say, they plan heist sprees and fence the loot before dispatching their earnings back home.
lapd deputy chief alan hamilton told the times that south american theft groups are not new in la, but they have become more active in recent months.
“although crime statistics show burglaries are on the decline overall, hamilton said: ‘the number of crimes tied to these kind of crews are way, way up,'” they reported.
he cautioned that it’s difficult to know for certain how many robberies can be attributed to foreign burglars, but said evidence indicates they are behind scores of break-ins. he estimated that north of the 118 freeway in la last year there were 94 burglaries, many probably committed by these crews.