Colorado’s Asian business owners targeted in wave of high-tech burglaries

Asian business owners are being targeted in a wave of sophisticated burglaries in Colorado, with suspects employing high-tech tactics to gain access to their homes and steal high-value items.

Where they’re taking place: The burglaries have occurred across multiple cities and counties in the state. Some of the affected areas include Denver, Aurora, Broomfield, Thornton and Windsor. Significant amounts of cash, luxury jewelry and designer handbags are typically stolen, with victims returning to find their homes ransacked. In Douglas County — where losses amounted to nearly $1 million so far this year — the suspects have employed diversion tactics such as slashing tires to prevent homeowners from responding to alarms. They have also used sophisticated methods to monitor their victims, including planting trackers on vehicles, using hidden cameras and employing Wi-Fi jammers to disable security systems. The targeting of Asian homes has long been linked to cultural practices. “They keep a lot of their assets at home,” Fran Campbell of the Asian Chamber of Commerce in Colorado told CBS News, noting that many new immigrants “don’t trust the banking world.”
About the suspects: The suspects are believed to be part of South American Theft Groups (SATG). Similar burglaries have occurred in Arizona, California and Florida, where suspects from countries like Chile, Colombia and Venezuela have been arrested. However, Colorado authorities caution that while the crimes fit a known pattern, they have no definitive proof connecting the burglaries to specific South American groups. Police say the culprits were working in teams of two to four, entering masked and gloved through the back of homes by smashing windows. Authorities are advising the public to secure valuables, report suspicious activity and routinely inspect tracking devices.

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