The courts in Argentina are weighing a US request to extradite at least one of four Chilean nationals remanded in custody over the burglary of former tennis star Juan Martín del Potro’s family home in Tandil, after US authorities linked two of the suspects to a string of high-profile burglaries targeting elite athletes.
The investigation has evolved from what initially appeared to be a domestic burglary case into an international criminal inquiry involving the FBI, Interpol and law enforcement agencies in Argentina and Chile.
Four Chilean nationals remain in custody over the May break-in at Del Potro’s home, while a fifth suspect, an Argentine citizen, has been released pending further proceedings after prosecutors reduced the charges against him.
The burglary took place last May 15 at the house owned by the former world tennis star in the hillside city of Tandil on Dabidos Street. A group of men broke in, entering the property via a large window. They took cash, perfume, watches (two that didn’t work, including a Swatch and a Rolex) and personal items including a gold chain with a cross on it, an engraved gold wedding ring and a Babolat racquet.
The investigation, led by deputy prosecutor Marcos Eguzquiza of Tandil’s Specialised Prosecution Unit No. 16, resulted in the arrest of five suspects: Chilean nationals Bastián Jiménez Freraut, 28, Ignacio Zúñiga Cartes, 21, Eduardo Gallardo Espinoza, 23, and Esteban Escobar Cartes, 35, together with Argentine national Damián Walter D’Amelio, 39.
Survey and subsequent analysis of security cameras helped identify a burgundy
Chevrolet Astra vehicle used by the thieves. Although the vehicle was registered to another person, prosecutors allege it had been driven by Zúñiga Cartes.
According to investigators, Zúñiga Cartes and Jiménez Freraut were already wanted by the FBI over their alleged involvement in a burglary crew accused of targeting the homes of professional athletes in the United States, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The pair were arrested at the Retiro Bus Terminal while waiting to board a coach bound for Posadas, Misiones Province. The remaining three suspects were detained in Junín after investigators tracked mobile phone records and a second vehicle allegedly driven by D’Amelio.
Azul federal judge José Alberto Moragas ordered the four Chilean nationals remanded in custody after finding sufficient evidence to charge them with aggravated burglary committed by a gang in an urban area.
As for D’Amelio, the Argentine suspect, the magistrate altered the charge to “cover-up aggravated by an intent to profit” and released him on his own recognizance, though he is still linked to the court proceedings until his alleged degree of involvement is determined.
Extradition attempts
The Buenos Aires Federal Court of Appeals recently rejected a bid to release two of the Chilean defendants who are the subject of Interpol red notices requested by US authorities.
The motion was filed by defence lawyers, who argued that the offences under investigation and the pending US request did not justify pre-trial detention, seeking less restrictive measures.
In a ruling Appeals Court judges Martín Irurzun, Eduardo Farah and Roberto Boico
grounded their judgment on the gravity of the crimes, the maximum applicable penalty
in the US and that they were a flight risk, since their entry into Argentina from Chile was
conducted via an illegal crossing, with no official immigration record of their arrival.
Chile’s Investigative Police (PDI, by its Spanish initials) said the investigation was carried out jointly with the FBI and Interpol. According to the PDI, officers arrested a third Chilean suspect wanted by US authorities in the Santiago commune of Lampa, while Jiménez Freraut and Zúñiga Cartes crossed into Argentina through an unauthorised mountain pass before allegedly carrying out the Del Potro burglary
“They were among the FBI’s most wanted suspects for being part of a gang specialising in the robbery of the homes of famous NFL and NBA sports stars in the United States, and they were being investigated by the PDI,” said the unit in a press statement accessed by Perfil.
“The joint work of the Brigada Investigadora de Robos Occidente detective squad, together with the Central Chilean Interpol Office and the FBI helped locate one of the Chileans wanted in the USA in the commune of Lampa. However, the two remaining suspects crossed the Andes via an unauthorised pass heading for Argentina, where they repeated the same modus operandi of burglaries of sportsmen, breaking into the home of the 2009 US Open champion,” it added.
Photographs released by the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida show Jiménez Freraut alongside three other men charged over a series of burglaries targeting athletes and celebrities in several US cities between October 2024 and January 2025.
According to the indictment, the group is accused of carrying out burglaries at the homes of NFL, NBA and NHL players, stealing watches, jewellery, cash, sports memorabilia and other luxury items worth an estimated US$2 million.
Chilean inspector Sebastián Gonzalez, from the BIRO detective squad investigating robberies, West Branch, said that the dynamics and logistics of the group is repeated every time: “They break into homes with low security when their residents are away, so they analysed the surrounding area and checked their potential victims’ social networks to find
the right time to break in.”
According to reporting by Perfil, the gang is part of a phenomenon called “Criminal
Tourism,” where thieves are authorised to enter another country as tourists to commit
robberies.
