The Abington Township Police Department is encouraging local homeowners to be on the lookout for an organized theft group which targets high-end residential properties.

According to Chief of Police Patrick Molloy, the same group has been hitting houses in the township over the last two to three years and include surveillance of their victims to learn their schedules.

“They’re known as the South American Theft Group and they operate all over the world. They hit very high-end homes targeting high-end jewelry, watches, things like that,” Chief Molloy said. “They use technology to disarm alarm systems.”

Chief Molloy noted that Stockton Road has been hit several times, two of which took place last week.

“We made an arrest of a member who left blood evidence on Stockton Road. He’d previously hit a house in California. We had two attempts earlier this week. Usually the homeowners aren’t around so there aren’t confrontations,” he said.

Abington police encourage residents to enroll in the Away Home Notification Program, which permits officers to periodically check your home while you are away. Registration information can be found here.

Chief Molloy said the FBI and Homeland Security are now involved in the investigation. In August, CBS News reported that federal prosecutors accused a so-called “crime tourism” ring in Southern California of directing co-conspirators from abroad—often from South America—to fly into the country and commit thefts across the U.S.

In April, the FBI stated the following regarding similar incidents in Indiana:

International theft groups are typically comprised of individuals from South American countries who travel to the United States to participate in organized theft rings and are likely responsible for select organized burglaries and thefts in Indiana. These theft groups usually target homes in affluent neighborhoods when the residents are out of town, concentrating on the master or main bedroom and taking high end jewelry, accessories, and cash.

The FBI believes the group is “likely responsible for select distraction robberies at grocery stores and similar establishments. Methods include surreptitiously removing credit cards from victims’ wallets, or the theft of the entire wallet, resulting in purchases of pre-paid gift cards at commercial retailers,” according to their statement.

“They’re Chilean and overstay their 90-days visas. One of them is associated with a violent, murderous gang in Chile, and the United States let him into the country,” Chief Molloy said. “We’ve had multiple burglaries over the last two or three years, and it’s them that’s doing them. We believe they’re all the same group. They’re here, they’re staying, and they’re very good. They can climb up to second-story windows. They’re trained. Sometimes they have an attractive female go up and knock on the door.”

A recent Facebook post claims that a house on Woodland Road in Abington was burglarized on Friday, November 22 between 2:30pm and 9:30pm. From the post:

There were two other houses recently hit on Gunpowder Rd and Stockton Rd. Same MO as ours, down to what was stolen. I am saying “they” above because from what we have heard from various sources there is a group operating and doing this methodically. 

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