FISHERS, Ind. — Fishers police have announced the arrest of two men the department claims are members of a South American theft group that has carried out burglaries at residences in Hamilton County two years ago.
According to the Fishers Police Department, two Chilean nationals have been arrested and preliminarily charged with felony counts of burglary and theft after being extradited from other states to Indiana.
Multiple members of South American Theft Group plead guilty to high dollar home break-ins in Hamilton County Rene Maximiliano Bello Sotomayor and Crispulo Lizardo Olmos Silva are currently being held in the Hamilton County Jail for their alleged roles in two separate residential burglaries that reportedly occurred in Fishers on Dec. 19, 2022.
FPD said that Border Patrol detained Sotomayor while he was reportedly attempting to re-enter the United States from Canada. Sotomayor allegedly lied about his name when questioned by Border Patrol agents, forcing a combination of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to utilize technology to confirm his identity.
Sotomayor was extradited to Indiana and has been incarcerated in the Hamilton County Jail since Aug. 17, FPD said.
Silva was arrested in Connecticut and brought into custody in August of last year after being apprehended for his alleged role in a burglary that occurred in that state, according to FPD. Silva was transported back to Indiana for an outstanding warrant and has been in the Hamilton County Jail since May 30, FPD said.
Silva also had an active warrant out of Chesterfield, Virginia, connected to an unrelated burglary investigation.
FBI warns of international theft groups operating in Indiana This is the latest example of Indiana-based law enforcement investigating home break-ins in Hamilton County and other cities around the state including Kokomo and Greenfield.
In April, FBI Indianapolis warned about a growing trend in the number of burglaries tied to international theft groups, with many members hailing from various South American countries.
Back in February, four suspects from Chile were charged in connection to burglaries of multiple residences along 106th Street in Carmel that resulted in bags and jewelry worth $250,000 being stolen.
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