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A gang of illegal Chilean migrants were charged in relation to a string of robberies targeting "high-profile athletes" in the United States, which included the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, the New York Post reports.
Pablo Zuniga Cartes, 24; Ignacio Zuniga Cartes, 20; Bastian Jimenez Freraut, 27; Jordan Quiroga Sanchez, 22; Bastian Orellano Morales, 23; Alexander Huiaguil Chavez, 24, and Sergio Ortega Cabello, 38, all suspected to be members of a "South American Theft Group," were charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday (February 18).
The gang reportedly “targeted high-profile athletes in the National Football League (“NFL”) and National Basketball Association (“NBA”), all of whom were away or playing in professional games at the time of the burglaries,” prosecutors claimed.
A burglary at Mahomes' Belton, Missouri, estate was reported "at around midnight on October 6," according to Cass County Sheriff's Office documents obtained by the website. Kelce's Leawood, Kansas, mansion was reportedly broken into hours later on October 7, prior to the Chiefs' Monday Night Football win against the New Orleans Saints.
Members of the same "South American Theft Group" were previously charged in the burglary at the home of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on December 9, which also took place while Burrow was playing in a Monday Night Football game. Sanchez, Morales and Cabello were all charged in relation to the incident, posing in photos with the stolen luxury possessions estimated to be worth about $300,000.
The group was also reported to have stolen luxury items from a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player on October 21; a Milwaukee Bucks player on November 2; and a Memphis Grizzlies player on December 20, stealing millions in valuables during the string of robberies, according to the complaint.