WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested four suspects tied to a South American theft group behind nine burglaries across six Florida counties, according to a news release.
The 17-month-long investigation revealed that the group stole nearly $1.7 million in property, targeting the homes of small business owners, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Geraldine Galeano-Perez, 33, Milton Ayala-Sierra, 25, Jason Alexander Higuera-Ruiz, 41 and Geiler Orobio-Cabezas, 36, are all facing numerous charges in Polk County, including racketeering, burglary and grand theft.
Higuera-Ruiz was reportedly able to bail out of jail with GPS monitoring but cut the device off and is now at large. His whereabouts are currently unknown and his bond is now set at $5.6 million, according to the sheriff's office.
Galeano-Perez, who has prior criminal history in Colombia and New York City, is currently booked in the Polk County Jail while Orobio-Cabezas is booked at Pinellas County Jail, according to the sheriff's office.
Ayala-Sierra was reportedly deported to Colombia.
The sheriff's office said one of the burglaries occurred in Polk County while four other burglaries occurred in Hillsborough County. Four others occurred across four different counties. The group reportedly stole jewelry, watches, designer purses and bags, and cash.
"They would dress in burkas...they would ride scooters through the neighborhood," Judd said during Thursday's press conference. "They would be wearing jogging clothes, and once they see that the path is clear, that's when they break in and steal large amounts of items."
Surveillance video from PCSO of the group's activity shows the group walking through a neighborhood disguised in yellow safety vests. Another video shows them piggybacking off another car to enter a gated community.
All four suspects were living in Winter Garden, Florida and in the United States illegally, Sheriff Judd said during the conference.
Sheriff Judd stated in the release that Polk County and the state of Florida are "not alone in this problem."
"All four of our suspects have taken advantage of our functionally non-existent border control and entered into the United States illegally to conduct their illegal activities," Judd stated.
Watch the full presser below: