Authorities have successfully apprehended a group of South American gang members accused of employing a chilling method to infiltrate homes in Los Angeles under the guise of delivery personnel.
In the wake of numerous home burglaries in the city, seven gang members, including four individuals from Colombia, are facing charges for allegedly targeting unsuspecting residents by masquerading as delivery service workers.
According to police reports, the intruders exploited branding from companies such as Amazon, DoorDash, and UberEats to gain entry into residences.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman highlighted that the suspects utilized items like a red DoorDash bag, along with burglary tools, to access homes once they ensured no one was present.
“A common strategy employed by these suspects is arriving with a DoorDash bag,” explained Hochman.
“It’s not limited to DoorDash; the same ruse could involve UberEats, Amazon, or any delivery service,” he added.
“And they’re getting these fake identification. They show up at the ring camera. They’ll push the doorbell or ring camera and they’ll say they’re from DoorDash.”
“They’re trying to check to see if there’s any one home, because very often they’re going to target the houses in which no one’s there,” Hochman added.
Cops said the gang members would arrive at these homes “prepared and ready for any type of situation.”
That included whether they were able to find an open door or window to get into on either the first or second floor.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna presented hidden cameras made to look like greenery and “a jammer”, which is a device “suspects carry to jam your camera system and other wi-fi devices connected to the cloud,” Luna said.
During the investigation, detectives recovered US currency, jewelry, a luxury handbag, a Wi-Fi jamming device, gloves and other burglary tools.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
Those arrested include Chilean national Kevin Diaz, Owen Rivera Chacon, Christopher Sanchez, and Edison Bioka. Each are facing a variety of charges related to the alleged break-ins.
Hochman sent a message to other South American gang members who want to come here and commit crimes.
“If you want to come here and break into our houses, if you want to come in here and scare and traumatize our families, let me assure you where you will spend some time in our jails and our prisons,” Hochman said.
“Because you will get arrested, prosecuted and punished.”
