Police say international crime ring spied on Braintree homeowners

BRAINTREE - Police say an international crime ring planted a spy camera in a bush in front of someone's home in a Braintree neighborhood. They say the alleged burglars used it to case a home across the street, and break in when the family left for vacation.

"It was standing up so it would face the house, and then it had duct tape around it so that it would be camouflaged into the bushes," said neighbor Kailynn Needle, who found it.

That's when police came up with a plan. "Once we discovered that camera, we decided that this was more like a crime in progress than it was an investigation into a past housebreak," said Braintree Police Chief Tim Cohoon.

Security camera shows masked burglars in home

The victims' own security camera showed chilling video of masked burglars crawling around their living room during a June break-in. It touched off an extensive investigation that went on for weeks. "Everybody dropped everything to make sure we were putting our best foot forward on this one," said Chief Cohoon.

It eventually led police to three suspects believed to be connected to a ring called the South American Theft Groups, or SATG. "California, the Midwest, Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida have all experienced something like this," said Chief Cohoon. "They do target affluent neighborhoods. We do know that."

"We set a trap, they took the bait"

Police got to the suspects using an elaborate plan to have the homeowners pretend to go on vacation again. This time, police were waiting. "Once we determined they were actually about to commit a crime, is when we decided...to make an approach on them," said Lt. Det. Brian Cohoon. "We set a trap, they took the bait, and we were able to take them into custody."

Carlos Ocampo-Carrillo of Flushing, New York, Diana Maria Alvarado-Rosano, also of Flushing, and Lizbeth Hernandez-Gantiva of New York City were arrested Thursday. They face breaking and entering and a list of other charges. Police say they may now also face federal immigrations charges.