STORM WATCH

Tracking rain, strong winds and coastal flooding for Long Island today.

5 arrested in connection to Chilean burglary ring targeting high-end Nassau homes

Early Thursday, the five men were busted in two hotel rooms in the Bronx by Nassau detectives using license plate readers to track them down.

News 12 Staff

Mar 6, 2020, 10:20 PM

Updated 1,720 days ago

Share:

Five men are under arrest on accusations they targeted high-end Nassau homes as part of a Chilean burglary ring.
Early Thursday, the five men were busted in two hotel rooms in the Bronx by Nassau detectives, who used license plate readers to track them down.
"We believe all five of these individuals entered through the southwest border, they came up through California, they committed crimes in Beverly Hills and came out here to the New York area," says Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
Police say the five men were sent to New York on 90-day tourist visas to commit burglaries. The group is accused of breaking into homes in Sands Point, Great Neck, Glen Cove and Locust Valley. They're accused of stealing a safe, $30,000 worth of watches and $8,000 in cash.
The five suspects are being held without bail. Prosecutors argued that the suspects pose an especially strong flight risk because they lied about their country of origin -- giving police fake IDs from Argentina.
Prosecutors also argued that a couple of defendants who were arraigned last month and released without bond have since fled the country. The judge agreed and remanded the suspects.
Ryder says this is the third crew they've arrested from Chile.
"You keep sending them here, our guys are not going to stop until we arrest them," says Ryder.