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<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fb3112d1d6df6c83a1fa81ede3a31d3b" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Los Angeles among other West Coast cities is battling a rising tide of theft by &#8216;burglary tourists&#8217; </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-78175f15ff8bada4dc22545010f7eb5e" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Cops say marauding gangs from Chile, Ecuador Colombia and Peru jet in on 90-day visas and ransack homes of the wealthy mansions before fleeing back to South America </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-42a4856c81398a2de7876ca8f13aa380" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Internationals from South America accused of having abused American visa laws to steal </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-79725b773e81f627d21e64eb0e17d62a" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Some have been accused of over 30 robberies throughout southern California </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-811bc255e8d255c4e650836207255dc6" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong><strong>The LAPD has launched a task force to combat the threat of &#8216;burglary tourists&#8217; perpetrating the break-ins</strong></strong></h1>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Law enforcement in Los Angeles is reported to be battling a wave of home burglaries &#8211; made in South America. The LAPD has created a unit tasked with stopping the &#8216;burglary tourists&#8217; exploiting the United States tourism visa system to commit crimes</strong></p>



<p>In the wake of the growing rash of home invasion robberies targeting affluent residents and upscale communities, the Los Angeles Police Department just launched a task force in a crack down on the wave property theft that authorities is fueled by &#8216;burglary tourism&#8217;. <br>Also known as &#8216;lanzas internacionales&#8217; &#8211; translates to &#8216;international thieves&#8217;, it is simply explained as a troubling trend of international visitors who exploit loopholes in the US tourism visa system to commit crimes.<br>These disingenuous criminals allegedly, mainly from Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru target wealthy neighborhoods. Basically places with relaxed criminal justice laws to unleash a disturbing wave of home burglaries. Robbery done, if these criminals are caught, they then turn round and return home with the loot while out on bail.</p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>As the west Coast battles the wave Latin American sourced high end home invasion robberies, A gang of tourist robbers strike a home in the upscale LA <strong>community</strong> of <strong>Hillsborough</strong> </strong></p>



<p>The troubling trend of &#8216;lanzas internacionales&#8217; first gained notoriety in US back in 2022. The same crime has also been flagged in the United Kingdom. <br>Authorities in UK reported having in custody criminals from South American countries countries such as Chile, Peru and Brazil, who arrived on tourist visas with the sole intention of burgling upscale residences and fleeing to their home countries, before being caught.<br>The gangs would target wealthy neighborhoods in places with lax criminal justice laws to conduct their home burglaries, according to police<br>In UK the gangs, who previously targeted professional athletes, especially Premier League footballers and celebrities, expanded their operations to include the homes of the wealthy, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewellery and valuables at a time.<br>Similarly in US, police blame crime tourists from South America for burglaries in an affluent San Francisco Bay area community. Similar groups having struck in Indiana, Texas, New York, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. </p>



<div class="wp-block-jetpack-tiled-gallery aligncenter is-style-rectangular"><div class="tiled-gallery__gallery"><div class="tiled-gallery__row"><div class="tiled-gallery__col" style="flex-basis:50.23517%"><figure class="tiled-gallery__item"><img role="button" tabindex="0" aria-label="Open image 1 of 2 in full-screen"srcset="https://i1.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Grecia-Romanduski-Gaete-Castillo-1.png?strip=info&#038;w=306&#038;ssl=1 306w" alt="" data-height="348" data-id="459022" data-link="https://konniemoments.com/?attachment_id=459022" data-url="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Grecia-Romanduski-Gaete-Castillo-1.png" data-width="306" src="https://i1.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Grecia-Romanduski-Gaete-Castillo-1.png?ssl=1" data-amp-layout="responsive"/></figure></div><div class="tiled-gallery__col" style="flex-basis:49.76483%"><figure class="tiled-gallery__item"><img role="button" tabindex="0" aria-label="Open image 2 of 2 in full-screen"srcset="https://i1.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sebastian-Jesus-Parraguez-Soto-1.png?strip=info&#038;w=304&#038;ssl=1 304w" alt="" data-height="349" data-id="459023" data-link="https://konniemoments.com/?attachment_id=459023" data-url="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sebastian-Jesus-Parraguez-Soto-1.png" data-width="304" src="https://i1.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sebastian-Jesus-Parraguez-Soto-1.png?ssl=1" data-amp-layout="responsive"/></figure></div></div></div></div>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Suspects in a string of home robberies targeting jewelry, Chilean nationals Grecia Romanduski Gaete Castillo [left], 32, and Sebastian Jesus Parraguez Soto [right], 23, were taken into custody in the course of investigating the foreign sourced wave of house robberies in Los Angeles</strong></p>



<p>Authorities in Los Angeles announced the task force after a 17-year-old Chilean national accused in a series of jewel heists across Los Angeles was caught in Arizona. The FBI set up its own task force to combat the thieves in 2022.<br>The suspect along with his accomplices, Grecia Romanduski Gaete Castillo, 32, and Sebastian Jesus Parraguez Soto, 23, both also from Chile, were taken into custody, where they admitted to breaking into several homes in the region. <br>The 17-year-old suspect who has not been identified being a minor, was initially arrested weeks earlier in the Los Angeles area with three other Chileans for robbing homes.<br>The teenager who had been operating with falsified Venezuelan identification, would continuously get away from the LAPD by making excuses that his parents had left him alone in the country with a friend of the family. He then disappeared after he was turned over to the Child and Family Services unit.</p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Scottsdale Police released door camera footage of recent thefts by South American &#8216;burglary tourists&#8217;</strong></p>



<p>The issue reportedly, has been increasing over the past five years, as professional criminals from South American mix with legitimate tourists and continue to visit on the tourist visa system to execute a system of home burglaries in US. <br>Law enforcement experts say the foreign cells of professional burglars &#8211; mostly from Columbia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, typically gain enter the country illegally or exploit a 2014 visa waiver program intended to spur tourism from dozens of trusted countries.<br>The program, ESTA, [Electronic System for Travel Authorization], allows citizens of South American countries unlimited number of entries into US, but each time for a duration of no more than90 days. <br>Exploiting this laxity, gangs of professional burglars from some eligible counties entering the country, then carry out strings of break-ins and other crimes, exporting hundreds of millions of dollars a year in stolen goods, the FBI said. </p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Burglarizing homes in homes affluent communities has been increasing over the past five years, as South Americans use the tourist visa system to rob Americans. In in 2023, there were 94 burglaries believed to be committed by the &#8216;crime tourists&#8217; in one part of Los Angeles alone, according to LAPD</strong></p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>&#8216;The number of crimes tied to these kind of crews are way, way up,&#8217; observed LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton</strong></p>



<p>Orange County, is determined to stop the crime tourists who have been behind hundreds of break-ins. District Attorney Todd Spitzer pointed a finger at the Chilean government which he said refuses to forward the criminal histories of Chileans who utilize the program to US immigration, which other South American countries typically do. <br>Spitzer who has sued the federal government for not disclosing negotiations with Chile over visa requirements, is calling for new laws to stop these criminals from getting into the country.<br> Also sounding the alarm, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said that despite overall burglaries being down, &#8216;The number of crimes tied to these kind of crews are way, way up&#8217;. </p>



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<p><br>Chief Hamilton revealed that in 2023, there were 94 burglaries believed to be committed by the &#8216;crime tourists&#8217; in one part of Los Angeles alone.<br>According to Hamilton, these groups are rarely armed but are more likely equipped with what&#8217;s known as &#8216;jamming&#8217; devices to access a home&#8217;s WiFi and potentially unlock home security systems in affluent neighborhoods.<br>&#8216;They often target homes often connected to open spaces, hiking trails and canyons that give them access,&#8217; Hamilton said.<br>The LAPD sent out a tweet pledging to use the task force to stop the problem: &#8216;LAPD recognizes the increase in burglaries where homes in affluent neighborhoods are targeted. <br>&#8216;We&#8217;re in the process of connecting with other agencies impacted by these organized groups coming to the country specifically to engage in this criminal activity.&#8217; </p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Police Chief Hamilton says the gangs of home burglars are rarely armed but are more likely equipped with what&#8217;s known as &#8216;jamming&#8217; devices to access a home&#8217;s WiFi and potentially unlock home security systems in affluent neighborhoods</strong></p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size">&#8216;<strong>Some of these residential burglars have been recorded going through second-story homes,&#8217; Police said, &#8216;because people don&#8217;t install alarm systems on their second story&#8217;</strong></p>



<p>They also tend to target people with less comprehensive alarm systems or only alarm systems for the first floor of their homes. <br>&#8216;Some of these residential burglars have been recorded going through second-story homes,&#8217; Officer Jessica Cuchilla with Huntington Beach Police told the OC Register. <br>&#8216;In these instances, the reason why they&#8217;re going in through there is because people don&#8217;t install alarm systems on their second story.&#8217;<br>Chilean Felipe Leiva Solis, 33, was apprehended multiple times last year after being suspected of being part of &#8216;an organized burglary ring responsible for a minimum of ten residential burglaries in Glendale,&#8217; authorities said.<br>He was arrested alongside Abraham Pablo Herrera Montecino &#8211; AKA Juan Eduardo Salomon Castro &#8211; and Francisco Alegria Velasquez, two more members of the alleged crew. </p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Chilean national Felipe Leiva Solis, [photo], 33, was arrested multiple times in 2023 after being suspected of being part of &#8216;an organized burglary ring responsible for a minimum of ten residential burglaries in Glendale,&#8217; authorities said</strong></p>



<p>In one case on Aug. 17 of last year, Burbank police officers arrested a man identified as Felipe Leiva Solis, a 33-year-old Chilean national, after a woman hiding in the bathroom of her home called to report that four men had broken in through a sliding door. <br>Leiva Solis was found in a nearby yard on Burbank’s North Parish Place and is suspected of four other burglaries across the city, according to court documents.<br>Solis was released on bail but picked up again on Dec. 19 in Glendale by police officers who suspect he was behind a string of burglaries in the city. <br>He was among a group of three men who tried to flee on foot when their vehicle was stopped, according to Glendale Police Investigator Jackie Nguy.</p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Professional home burglar Felipe Solis Leiva, was arrested alongside Abraham Pablo Herrera Montecino, AKA &#8216;Juan Eduardo Salomon Castro&#8217; [left], and Francisco Alegria Velasquez [right], identified as two more members of the alleged burglary crew</strong></p>



<p>One detective with the LAPD said in a court declaration that Leiva Solis was part of a crew linked to over 30 thefts in the West Los Angeles area alone, and saying he used a fake passport to open an account with Bank of America to wire $23,000 home.<br>Three other members of the alleged crew were found with over $1million in stolen apparel from a single burglary on December 27 in Beverly Hills. <br>&#8216;I can tell you that we have a significant increase in burglaries from organized groups that are outside this country, that are coming into the country, and they are targeting high-end residents,&#8217; LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said.<br>Prosecutors told the court Solis should remain in custody, alleging the Chilean was part of “an organized burglary ring responsible for a minimum of ten residential burglaries in Glendale,” that he was also tied to other thefts in Beverly Hills and other counties.</p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Home surveillance camera captured this gang of thieves, who police believe are &#8216;crime tourists&#8217; in the act of robbing a San Francisco Bay area home in 2022</strong></p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>The thieves can be seen carting away bags full of stolen property. They also stole an SUV from the upscale San Francisco home</strong></p>



<p>Leiva Solis is being held without bail ahead of a court appearance next week, having pled not guilty to three counts of burglary and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. <br>Shep Bryan, owner of Maximum Security Safes in Santa Ana, said that these thieves have &#8216;changed what a typical burglary is.&#8217;<br>Bryan told <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/10/tourist-burglars-target-upscale-residential-communities-in-orange-county/?clearUserState=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">says</a> he&#8217;s had several clients ask them how to protect safes, which the criminals will use commercials to tear from bolted-down positions. <br>One homeowner arrived at her Laguna Hills home on Valentine&#8217;s Day 2023 to see her door &#8216;gouged out&#8217; and a hole in her patio roof, believing a thief to have tried to get to the second floor window before follow through the patio cover.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/South-American-house-robber-in-LA-5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-459052" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Surveillance cameras at the Bay area home caught close-ups of two masked suspects at the front door</strong></p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>The criminals use commercials to tear safes from bolted-down positions. These thieves have &#8216;changed what a typical burglary is,&#8217; said Shep Bryan, owner of Maximum Security Safes in Santa Ana,Calif</strong></p>



<p>She reported $150,000 in jewelry and watches stolen, including what she called &#8216;sentimental pieces&#8217; that cannot be replaced. <br>These burglars are suspected to use ladders, rain gutters, or stacked patio furniture to get into master bedrooms. Another victim of home burglary said she came home one night in 2022 to her sliding door completely shattered.<br>Burglars had taken $25,000 in handbags, wallets and jewelry, adding she&#8217;s &#8216;never had anything like this&#8217; in her ritzy Dana Point neighborhood. </p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>One home owner came home to Laguna Hills on Valentine&#8217;s Day 2023 to see her door &#8216;gouged out&#8217; and a hole in her patio roof, where a thief to have tried to get to the second floor window. Another victim came home one night in 2022 to her sliding door completely shattered. Burglars had taken $25,000 in handbags, wallets and jewelry</strong></p>



<p>The visiting criminals are emboldened by their discovery of a &#8216;sweet spot&#8217; in the American criminal system because their offenses don&#8217;t meet the requirements for federal investigation, and are often overlooked. <br>What&#8217;s more, no cash or low bail law allow the repeat offenders endless opportunities to continue to the brazen heists, even after being caught. <br>After entering the country, they reportedly carry out strings of break-ins and other crimes, bringing home up to hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen goods, the FBI estimates.<br>FBI Special Agent Daniel Gimenez said members of a criminal tourist gang in Texas made between $20,000 to $100,000 per jobs. <br>In 2022, the FBI took down one of the groups in Virginia who exploited the state&#8217;s lax bail laws to steal more than $2 million in a string of burglaries targeting high-end homes of Asian and Middle Eastern families before skipping bail and fleeing back home.<br>The network of thieves were also connected to a series of burglaries at homes across the Carolinas, Georgia and Texas, as well as a $1.2 million jewelry heist in Southern California. <br>The FBI say the investigation began after a string of break-ins in homes in Fairfax County, near Washington DC. But they were unable to make any arrests. <br>The agency didn&#8217;t get its first real break in the case until two of the suspected criminals tied to the ring were discovered after their car broke down in a suburb in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019. </p>



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<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>FBI sources, said &#8216;South American theft groups,&#8217; are a growing plague throughout the United States &#8211; and in countries including India , Britain and Australia, where they often employ similar tactics</strong></p>



<p>Pulled over and questioned the two men, both Puerto Rican, told the deputy they were coming from one of the men&#8217;s girlfriend&#8217;s houses. However, twigs stuck in one of the men&#8217;s clothing made the officer suspicious of their story, putting the pair on the local police&#8217;s radar, although they were no arrests.<br>The men were later caught in a break-in attempt in the area, and were handed over to federal investigators who eventually linked them to the suspected syndicate.<br>The break in the case soon led investigators to a number of other burglars who used underhanded tactics like using jammers to block key fobs to break into cars, or cutting security systems and letting the batteries drain on back ups before looting stores.<br><br><br><br></p>



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West Coast fights wave of ‘lanzas internacionales’ – LA grapples with wave of ‘burglary tourism’ by professional thieves from from South America masquerading as tourists on 90-day visas, ransack homes of wealthy Americans before fleeing back home
