Authorities in the western Philadelphia suburb of West Whiteland Township are reporting clashes with organized gangs of retail thieves made up of illegal border crossers.
Police officials have identified at least three gangs of migrants responsible for the theft of thousands of dollars of merchandise since January, according to WPVI-TV.
“They’re taking advantage of coming to the U.S. and committing these crimes and being able to disappear to some degree,” West Whiteland Township Police Department Detective Scott Pezick told the station.
“Over the last month, we’ve had what we call South American theft groups,” Pezick added.
Officers arrested two Venezuelan migrants on February 1 and charged them with stealing more than $2,000 in merchandise from an Ulta store in Exton, the outlet added.
The suspects — Albert Torrealba Jordan and Keiver Guilarte Camps — had both entered the U.S. illegally, the police said.
In another case, an illegal from Peru was accused of stealing $17,000 from a Khols in Exton. The suspect had been deported but is reportedly already back.
“That was less than a month ago, and he’s back in the United States,” Pezick explained.
The groups are also being implicated in home and car burglaries, police said.
The epidemic of organized gangs of migrants engaging in crimes is hardly limited only to a small village west of Philadelphia.
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Chicago and its suburbs have been inundated by waves of thefts, often at the hands of organized migrant gangs.
In January, authorities in the western suburb of Oak Brook noted that an increase in thefts in multiple retail outlets was being perpetrated by illegals who have been traced back to migrant shelters in Chicago.
Other areas in the Chicago region have also reported gangs of illegals engaged in criminal activities.
Nearby Lake County, Illinois, located just north of Chicago, reported that a migrant gang was suspected of operating a theft ring targeting businesses.
Authorities in Michigan found similar circumstances after a gang of migrants from Chile was arrested for robbing a Macy’s store in Oakland County.
In addition, a pair of Chilean illegals was nabbed in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and charged with robbing a jewelry store.
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