Authorities in West Whiteland Township, a western suburb of Philadelphia, have reported clashes with an organized retail theft ring made up of illegal border crossers.
Police officials are identified Since January, at least three groups of immigrants have committed the theft of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, according to WPVI-TV.
“They are taking advantage of their ability to come to the United States and commit these crimes and to some extent disappear,” West Whiteland County Police Department Detective Scott Pejic told the department.
“Last month, the so-called South American theft group was active,” Pejic added.
The newspaper added that officers arrested two Venezuelan immigrants on February 1 and charged them with stealing more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from an Ulta store in Exton.
Police said the suspects were Albert Torrealba Jordan and Caber Guilarte Camps, both of whom were in the United States illegally.
In a separate case, an illegal alien from Peru was charged with stealing $17,000 from Kohl’s in Exton. The suspect was deported, but he is reportedly already back in the country.
“That was less than a month ago and he is back in the United States,” Pejic explained.
Police say the group is also involved in residential burglaries and car robberies.
The prevalence of organized immigrant gang crime is not limited to small villages in West Philadelphia.
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Chicago and its suburbs are plagued with thefts committed by organized immigrant gangs.
Officials in the western suburb of Oak Brook said in January that several retail stores were seeing an increase in thefts by undocumented immigrants traced back to immigrant shelters in Chicago.
Groups of illegal criminals engaging in criminal activity have also been reported in other parts of the Chicago area.
Nearby Lake County, Illinois, just north of Chicago, reported that immigrant gangs are suspected of running a theft ring targeting businesses.
Authorities in Michigan discovered a similar situation after a group of Chilean immigrants were arrested on suspicion of robbing a Macy’s store in Oakland County.
Additionally, two Chilean illegal aliens were arrested in Gulf Shores, Alabama and charged with robbing a jewelry store.
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