GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich. – After authorities in Oakland County alerted the public to a series of “high-end burglaries,” the suspected crew behind the robberies are believed to be expanding into new areas in Metro Detroit.
An organized crew out of South America is suspected of targeting and burglarizing several high-end homes in Oakland County, and now in Wayne County. The gated community at the Country Club of Detroit, located in Grosse Pointe Farms, was targeted by organized burglary teams over Thanksgiving weekend.
The connection between all of the high-end homes being hit? The houses have yards that back up to trees, shrubs, or wooded areas. Law enforcement believe the thieves use those areas to hide, stake out the house, and wait for an opportunity to strike.
The issue was first announced publicly when Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard sounded the alarm in September this year. It was then that huge homes in Bloomfield Township were targeted by the thieves. Then, homes on private driveways in Birmingham were targeted.
Officials estimate those losses to be worth millions of dollars. Authorities believe organized gangs in South America are sending people into these high-end homes to steal a significant amount of cash and jewelry.
“In our area, they are targeting jewelry, precious metals, high-end items such as purses, electronics, currency, high-end watches, and if there’s a safe that’s not attached or they can either break into it on scene or carry it, they’ll do that,” Bouchard said.
Bouchard says the robberies in Oakland County appear to be targeted and not random. For these homes, Bouchard said thieves have tended to break in between 5 p.m.-9 p.m., and their preferred targets are houses that are isolated and back up to wooded areas, trails, golf courses, or the like.
Somewhat connected, an 18-year-old man was arrested in Bloomfield Township in October and charged for a string of vehicle break-ins and some burglaries that occurred in June. However, as it relates to the organized home robberies, sources continue to point to crews out of South America that were once hitting homes out West, and have now made their home in Michigan.
The thieves have somehow been able to avoid the many security cameras and alarm systems affixed to these high-end homes, both inside and outside. A task force of law enforcement throughout the region is being formed in an effort to track down the thieves.
---> Previously: Highly skilled thieves prey on high net-worth homes in Oakland County