The burglary at the home of one of Argentina’s most beloved tennis players, Juan Martín del Potro, last May initially appeared to be an isolated crime. But the investigation took a dramatic turn when two of those arrested were identified as Chilean nationals wanted by the FBI. US authorities said the pair belonged to criminal organisations accused of targeting elite athletes across the United States.
Bastián Jiménez Freraut, 28, and Ignacio Zúñiga Cartes, 21, were recently remanded in custody by the courts, along with their accomplices, Eduardo Gallardo Espinoza and Esteban Escobar Cartes. The case also included the arrest of Argentine citizen Walter D’Amelio, a non-gang member who is believed to have been contacted to make a trip via a ride-sharing app.
The arrests quickly attracted national attention, shedding light on a criminal phenomenon that has been troubling US law enforcement for years and has spread to Canada and Europe.
The defining characteristic of these groups is that they are not part of a single criminal organisation. Instead, they form a loose network of offenders who share methods, contacts and logistics, with small crews constantly forming, dissolving and regrouping.
“They’re not opportunists. This is something they learn from a young age,” said detective Jesús Bonilla of the Major Crimes Squad at the Nassau County Police Department on Long Island, one of the investigators who has spent the longest tracking the phenomenon.
Spotting the pattern
In an exclusive interview with Perfil, Bonilla said investigators first began detecting a pattern around 2017, when a series of burglaries with strikingly similar characteristics were reported across several counties in New York State. The breakthrough came from a case in California, where police were already tracking a group of Chilean nationals who had entered the United States as tourists to burgle luxury homes.
According to Bonilla, the phenomenon expanded after Chile joined the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) system , which allows visa-free travel for 90 days. The media soon began referring to the trend as “criminal tourism.”
Del Potro’s case, however, appears to have been an exception. “Argentina is their gateway because they cross the border using forged documents before travelling on to the United States, Mexico or Canada with the help of a ‘coyote,'” Bonilla said.
Private investigator David Bolton agrees. He said many Chilean burglary suspects had been arrested carrying fake driving licences and Argentine passports, describing Argentina as “a country that is very easy to enter and leave.”
That hypothesis is consistent with the findings of Chile’s Investigative Police (PDI, by its Spanish initials). According to the PDI, Jiménez Freraut and Zúñiga Cartes entered Argentina through an unauthorised mountain pass in the Andes. Before crossing the border, they had been detained in the Santiago commune of Lampa alongside a third suspect wanted by the FBI.
Inspector Enrique Gutiérrez, of Interpol Chile, said cooperation between law enforcement agencies in several countries had been crucial in identifying the gang’s modus operandi. He added that the suspects would face trial either in Argentina or the United States, as they had no significant criminal record in Chile.
Network, not gang
After years of interviewing suspects, Bonilla has reached a clear conclusion: “They don’t have a boss. They operate as a network.”
The detective describes a flexible structure, in which small crews are created around experienced criminals. Then, some become independent and recruit acquaintances of their own. “They all tell the same story: ‘My dad robbed, my uncle robbed, my brother robbed.’ That’s the trade they grow up with in the neighbourhoods they come from,” said Bonilla.
Unlike other burglary gangs, the crews do not choose their targets at random. When they set their sights on athletes or celebrities, they spend days conducting reconnaissance before striking. Social media is their starting point: they scour photos and videos posted by the victims themselves to identify homes, possible points of entry and clues about security arrangements. They then use geolocation tools to pinpoint the exact property. Then they use geolocation platforms to pinpoint the specific property.
Once the home has been identified, they watch the neighbourhood’s movements for several days waiting for the right moment to strike, when a property is empty. In the case of athletes, the criminals consult competition schedules to know when they are playing away from home.
They generally look for properties near wooded or poorly-lit areas, entering from the back by breaking windows or forcing sliding doors to open and waiting for changes of security shifts. The crews obtain vehicles, rent accommodation through platforms such as Airbnb and establish contacts with buyers before carrying out the burglary.
Bolton said the sophistication of the gangs’ methods allows them to complete burglaries in very little time. They evade alarm systems, use Wi-Fi jammers to block wireless connections and disable security devices.
Flaunting success
Among the best-known alleged victims of these burglary crews are Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and NBA basketball player Jamel ‘Ja’ Morant. In most cases, the thieves struck while the athletes were away competing, making off with luxury watches, jewellery, cash and other valuables.
Investigators believe the gang accused of burgling Del Potro’s home has stolen goods worth more than US$2 million.
Bonilla said the meticulous planning behind the burglaries is often undermined by one recurring weakness: the desire to flaunt their success.
“They’re fascinated by Instagram and Facebook. They post WhatsApp statuses to show their friends everything they’ve done,” he said.
According to Bonilla, many suspects celebrate successful burglaries by posing for photographs and videos surrounded by watches, gold chains, cash and other luxury items before sharing the images online.
He highlighted the youth of the gang members: “They’re young, there are minors. They’re between 15 and 30, the older ones do other hits, such as robbing jewellery stores,” he said.
Bonilla pointed to the case of Bryan Herrera Maldonado, from Pudahuel on the outskirts of Santiago, who began committing crimes at a young age under the influence of a cousin. He was eventually arrested in late 2020, aged 24, accused of being one of the main suspects behind more than 100 residential burglaries across the United States.
‘Like saints’
In Bonilla’s view, the quest for recognition is no coincidence. Many of the suspects come from neighbourhoods where relatives or acquaintances made fortunes from burglary and became role models. “I don’t like using this word, but to them they’re like saints. They’ve become famous,” he said.
Recalling conversations with suspects during interrogations, Bonilla said many would tell investigators: “Look at what my uncle did, he bought his mum a house, he has cars, he has money.”
According to the investigator, burgling the home of a famous person not only promises a lucrative haul, it also brings status within their communities. “It puts their neighbourhood on the map, so to speak.”
Ironically, the same social media platforms they use to identify their victims also help police identify them. “The professionals don’t have social media accounts. They know that’s how the police catch them.”
The detective said that distinction helps explain how these criminal networks have evolved. “Boys will be boys,” he said.
Bonilla believes the investigation ultimately reveals one central truth: the desire to display wealth and success is also one of the main reasons many of these burglars end up behind bars.
WHAT WE KNOW
Global trail of burglaries
Athletes, celebrities and luxury homes targeted by the Chilean burglary crews.
Members of the specialist Azul Federal Police and detective squad arrested Jiménez Freraut and Zúñiga Cartes at Retiro bus terminal as they prepared to travel to Misiones Province. Detectives tracked them down after one of the suspects used a bank card at a service station and investigators linked their getaway vehicle to a traffic fine issued in Buenos Aires City.
According to investigators, the gang stole watches, jewellery, trophies, medals, racquets and other personal belongings from “La Torre de Tandil,” the family home where Del Potro’s mother lives.
Once the suspects were identified, authorities discovered Interpol red notices had been issued for two of them over their alleged links to a burglary crew accused of targeting some of the United States’ biggest sporting stars. Investigators say one of the breakthroughs came after gang members uploaded photographs of themselves posing with stolen goods to an iCloud account, providing crucial evidence.
Authorities have linked the same modus operandi to a string of high-profile burglaries across North America.
Among the alleged victims are NBA players Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike Conley Jr. of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks. Following the burglary of his home, Portis appealed on social media for help recovering cash, watches, jewellery and other personal possessions stolen from a safe.
NFL American football players targeted include Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. The home of Kelce, who recently married US pop star Taylor Swift, was burgled two days after Mahomes’ during the 2024 season, with thieves stealing around US$20,000 in cash, jewellery and memorabilia, including the jersey from his first Super Bowl.
British police also identified similar methods in a series of burglaries targeting Premier League footballers living in Cheshire’s so-called “Golden Triangle.” In 2020, three Chilean nationals – Nicolás Carrasco, Alexis Carrasco and Joel Ureta – were sentenced over the offences.
Investigators have also drawn comparisons with the 2023 burglary at actor Keanu Reeves’ Hollywood Hills home, where six watches worth more than US$125,000, including a customised John Wick: Chapter 4 Rolex Submariner, were stolen.
The watches were recovered the following year in Santiago after Chilean police raided properties linked to an organised burglary gang operating in the capital.
