Gangs from central and south America targeting luxury homes: sheriff

Criminal gangs from central and south America are taking advantage of lax US immigration laws to set up in cities across the nation and steal from hardworking citizens, a sheriff has warned.

Oakland County, Michigan, Sheriff Michael Bouchard said crime syndicates from “south of the border” have targeted high-end homes stealing “hundreds and hundreds of thousand of dollars” worth of belongings, CBS Detroit reports.

“These are transnational gangs that are involved in this that come from South America, looking to do burglaries and violate our communities, not just in Oakland County but across America,” Bouchard said. 

The sheriff said the thieves have been identified as nationals from Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras.

The gangs have allegedly snuck across the border and purchased fake IDs to reside in the very cities they then hope to pillage.

“These people are going after jewelry, high-end purses and watches, currency and safes,” Bouchard said, noting the gangs target homes and survey them for days to find the perfect time to strike.

“They typically hit homes from 5 to 9 p.m., they seem to want houses where nobody’s home, and they usually come in through windows in the back,” the sheriff added.

Bouchard ultimately warned wealthy homeowners to invest in security systems and to add cameras to their homes’ entry points to protect their belongings.

While he declined to comment on which communities have been hit and whether or not any gang members have been arrested, the sheriff said his office has been working with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security on cases.

He claimed a similar gang had struck in New York, where officials have also called on the federal government to act on the border following an influx of migrants settling into the Empire State.

On Sunday, Democrat governor Gov. Kathy Hochul ramped up her attacks on US border policies, demanding “a limit on who can come across’’ and for more agents to nab those crossing illegally.

“It is too open right now,’’ Hochul told CBS’s “Face the Nation’’ of the country’s southern border with Mexico — where a record-setting 260,000-plus migrants crossed over last month. 

“Congress has to put more controls at the border,’’ Hochul said. “Talk about eliminating positions for Border Patrol, well, we actually need to double or quadruple those numbers.”

The governor’s comments cames as Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the chief advisor for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, called on the federal government to “close the borders.”