Three men suspected of being part of a South American theft group that targeted the homes of Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis and other professional athletes have been arrested in Argentina.
ABC News reported the three are Chilean citizens and that they were wanted in the U.S. on federal charges in connection with burglaries that targeted Portis’ home, and those of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Two of the suspects — Ignacio Zuniga Cartes and Bastian Jimenez Freraut — are among five people arrested in connection with a robbery at the home of Argentine tennis player Juan Martin del Potro. That crime occurred earlier this month in Argentina.
The arrest of the third suspect, Pablo Zuniga Cartes, was unrelated to the tennis player incident, ABC News reported.
Efforts are being made to return all three the United States.
Federal authorities say in a Jan. 30, 2025, complaint the men allegedly were members of a South American theft group that broke into the homes of athletes in the NFL and NBA and stole more than $2 million in valuables while they were away or playing games at the time.
The complaint included images of the three suspects, along with a fourth person, posing for a selfie with a safe and jewelry. Authorities believe they were taken after the November 2024 burglary at Portis’ River Hills home.
The Bucks forward took to social media shortly after the crime to plead with the public to provide tips and offer a reward for information leading to arrests.
International theft groups seem to have been widening their footprints in the Midwest in recent years.
Local agencies, particularly those in Wisconsin, have been more actively swapping notes with one another about break ins that share similar hallmarks since the FBI began issuing warnings in 2024 about such crews.
Three Chilean men were indicted in federal court in Milwaukee on May 12 for purportedly being members of a multi-theft group that stole roughly $1 million in cash and goods during a string of burglaries in Wisconsin and other states.
In one instance, on Oct. 17, the group broke into a Delafield home while the occupants were out and made off with roughly 100 pieces of jewelry. Other break-ins, carried out in a similar fashion allegedly by the same men were reported in Mequon in October and in Colgate in November.
Prosecutors in Ozaukee and Dodge counties have charged four Colombian men — Dominick Luna, 32, Jhon Gonzalez Caicedo, 28, Wilver Manyoma Meija, 41, and Andres Mauricio Melvis Hurtado, 37 — in a string of December and January burglaries.
They stole more than $800,000 in cash and jewelry during their spree and were arrested in Grafton, authorities allege in a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors argue in the complaint the burglars targeted homes that were owned by Asians.
Online court records show the Manitowoc County District Attorney’s Office separately filed burglary charges against Luna in March.
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 3 suspects in 2024 burglary of Bobby Portis’ home arrested in Argentina
Reporting by Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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