FBI and Chilean police take down international gang of thieves

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By Alexander Villegas

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean police forces, aided by the FBI, took down an international gang of thieves that carried out robberies in the United States, authorities said on Wednesday.

The raid, codenamed “Operation Pennsylvania,” took place across dozens of homes in Santiago on Tuesday night and led to the arrests of 23 people and seizure of 1.3 billion pesos ($1.36 million) worth of goods and real estate, according to police.

“This phenomenon of international thieves has regretfully existed in our country for many years, but it’s unfortunately been on the rise recently,” prosecutor Eduardo Baeza said during a press conference, adding that they historically operated in Europe but have been focusing more on the United States recently.

Chileans have been arrested in recent high-profile robberies, including the theft of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse in a Washington restaurant this month and a series of break-ins to the homes of professional athletes, including Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce, boyfriend of pop star Taylor Swift.

Johnny Fica, head of the Investigative Police of Chile’s (PDI) money and asset laundering division, said many of the detainees had no criminal records in Chile but were career criminals abroad that laundered assets in Chile.

Fica said the investigation began last year and was carried out with information from the FBI. Images from the raid show drawers filled with iPhones, luxury watches, cars, purses and shoes.

“What you see is part of a life of luxury they had here in Chile. A lot of them liked to show off,” Fica said, adding that many of the groups were family or close-knit units.

“Their goal was clear, they wanted to enjoy the profits of their crimes in this country and they didn’t skimp on spending because they felt like they had, until now, impunity.”

(Reporting by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Rod Nickel)