(NewsNation) — International criminals have been targeting wealthy homes on America’s coast, but now those same thieves are moving into the heartland.
Thieves from South America are making their way to the U.S., renting expensive cars to fit in with high-end neighborhoods, and then striking when homeowners are away.
It’s called “crime tourism,” a type of organized crime that has been reported on America’s coasts in recent years. But more recently, these thieves are making their way to the central U.S., catching homeowners off guard and causing headaches for law enforcement.
After speaking with neighbors in Carmel, Indiana, NewsNation’s Keleigh Beeson found many were unfamiliar with this type of crime. What’s alarming is the thieves typically strike during daylight hours or in the early evening when people are at work or out to dinner.
Carmel is among the safest and most affluent communities in the suburbs of Indianapolis, with quiet, tree-lined, suburban streets. It’s also where a quarter of a million dollars was stolen from inside a home earlier this year.
The four suspects charged in the case were all from Chile. Carmel police investigated just three of these types of crimes in 2021. In 2022, there were 10 incidents, and so far in 2023, there have already been seven similar cases.
It’s a new type of theft for the community, unlike in California where several luxury estates have been prime locations for a roving group of thieves looking for a target.
“We have gates. We have an alarm. We have Ring. We have a dog. We have signs,” said Huntington Beach, California, resident Cari Casteneda.
Even with all of those deterrents in place, she found her home in the crosshairs of organized crime. Ring video footage shows the moment when thieves made off with $250,000 of cash and jewelry. They even ripped a safe out of a wall in the home.
Casteneda isn’t alone.
“I was quite shocked to find out I was actually No. 11,” nearby resident Lisa Rudy said.
Rudy returned home to find her second-floor balcony door shattered, with cash, a safe box and jewelry gone. She was only out of the house for two hours.
“Knowing somebody who you don’t know was there and had ill intent to be there is a horrible, horrible feeling,” Rudy said.
At least 20 homes in Huntington Beach were the targets of similar break-ins last year. Authorities say these groups rent cars that blend in to the neighborhoods to surveil homes. They break into them when they know the residents are away, usually between 5 and 11 p.m.
The thieves routinely head to master bedrooms in search of cash, jewelry or designer purses, shipping the items they steal back to their home countries or selling them before leaving the U.S.
These brazen “crime tourists” are now targeting the center of the country.
“It’s frustrating because it is difficult crime to investigate. They have multiple fake IDs, they’re able to get into the country rather easily,” said Paul Keenan, founder of PHaKtor Security Consulting and a former FBI agent in Indianapolis.
Some thieves obtain visas before arriving in the U.S., while others apply through a visa waiver program that allows them to visit the U.S. for tourism or business without obtaining a visa within the first 90 days.
Keenan said these groups communicate in their home countries, advising each other not to talk to police if they’re arrested, since they will likely receive bail or be deported.
“If they get out on bail, the likelihood of them showing up for court is very small,” Keenan said. “They’ll either go back to the country they’re from, or they’ll just continue on their spree across the country of robbing houses. If they get deported, they’re going back home. And eventually they’ll make their way back to the United States if they choose to do so.”
Authorities who spoke with NewsNation said many times these thieves surveil homes for weeks before striking. Some even put cameras on homes or air tags on vehicles to track a homeowner’s schedule.
Law enforcement officials recommend reporting any suspicious activity that you may notice around your home. If you can, they also recommend installing lights that turn on at the same time every night, and not making it known when you will be out of town.