PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police in Abington Township said they broke up a ring of thieves who were targeting homes and businesses owned by Asian Americans. Authorities believe they might be connected to crimes across the country.
Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy said this was a sophisticated operation. He said the thieves planted hidden cameras around homes to determine the best times to break in.
They also planted tracking devices on victims’ cars and dressed as Amazon workers to try to blend in.
“They would use Wi-Fi jammers. They had two-way radios. They actually would have people positioned in different areas of the neighborhood to see if police officers were coming,” Molloy told NBC10. “They used counter-surveillance. They used real estate tax records and others to identify Asian Americans who owned businesses.”
Police said most of the suspects are from Colombia and are in the U.S. illegally.
Dozens of victims were targeted, many in the Philly suburbs but also in New Jersey and in the Poconos. However, police said some of the men have been connected to crimes as far away as Kentucky and Florida.