Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said Thursday that they've arrested three suspects in a series of residential break-ins in South Charlotte: 49 year old Alexander Panameno, 33-year old Anuar Noviteno and 34 year old David Caicedo-Delgado are linked to a criminal network of South American theft groups. Police said such groups are also known as "crime tourists."
CMPD said Panameno and Noviteno have been charged in 18 cases in Charlotte that happened between last September and June. They're suspected in more than 50 cases across the U.S. Police said they wore"high-visibility clothing to appear as construction or lawncare workers to avoid suspicion."
Caicedo-Delgado was a getaway driver, police said, and is charged in one Charlotte case and suspected in others.
During a press conference, CMPD Major Johnathan Thomas said the group isn’t made up of an average criminals.
"These groups, like I've said, and we've said in the past, they're highly skilled. These are not juveniles that are running up, kicking in the door and grabbing something. What makes these tourist criminals or set of groups different? They do surveillance, they do research on their victims," he said.
After a string of thefts, members of such groups often return to their country of origin, investigators said.
When the suspects were arrested CMPD detectives recovered over $130,000 in luxury items and just over $12,000 in cash.
