KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Police identified Monday the five men who were arrested in connection with an international burglary ring that netted about $4 million in stolen property.
For two years, the ring targeted luxury condominiums along the waterway from Juno Beach to Miami, police said. Some of their victims were not insured and say they have lost irreplaceable items of high sentimental value, police said.
The suspects -- who were linked to at least 30 robberies -- were Eduardo Jose Martinez, Carlos Raul De Pablos Mazzelli, Alberto Jose Colmenares Machado, Wilmer Jose Rojas Gamboa and Andres Rojas Solano.
They "have been in and out of the U.S.," Bay Harbor Islands Police Department Officer Jill Dellerson said.
Two of the five were residents of Venezuela, police said. Authorities were still looking for one suspect.
Venezuelan records show an Alberto Jose Colmenares Machado was identified as a businessman and had a criminal case in Aragua in 2008. A Linkedin account identified a Wilmer Jose Paul Gamboa as a resident of Venezuela and an employee at Saniconsult.
Police "arrested two suspects while a burglary was in progress in the city of Key Biscayne," Bay Harbor Islands Police Department's John Grimes said. The burglars took safes, police said.
Investigators have surveillance video and hours of undercover work, Grimes said.
The task force involved in uncovering the burglary ring included 17 law enforcement agencies. They met at Broward Sheriff's Office headquarters Aug. 13, Dellerson said.
After the suspects arrived from Venezuela Aug. 14, authorities kept them under surveillance. Authorities caught up to three of the suspects, while they were committing a burglary in Key Biscayne Aug. 21. The other two were arrested Saturday at Miami International Airport.
MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE
The police departments included Bay Harbor Island, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Miami-Dade Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Hillsboro, Palm Beach, Vero Beach, Del Ray and Dural.
The Miami-Dade Airport general investigation units, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations were also involved.
Prosecutors from the Florida Attorney General's office worked with the Miami-Dade and Broward State Attorney's Office.
Martinez was charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling.
De Pablos Mazzelli was charged with grand theft and three counts of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.
Colmenares Machado was facing three counts of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and possession of tools used in a burglary.
Rojas Gamboa was charged with grand theft and two counts of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.
Rojas Solano was charged with two counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling and one count of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.
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