South American bank robbery crew used blowtorches and elaborate disguises to seize $4 million in wild West coast heists: feds

On By Karl

accused of bandits

A team of South American bandits donned elaborate disguises in a series of bank robberies on the west coast.

A brazen crew of South American bank bandits disguised themselves as construction workers and used blowtorches, cellphone jammers and other “sophisticated tactics” to snatch at least $4 million in a series of brutal West Coast robberies, according to the federal authorities who caught them.

The group of 11 thieves, mostly from Chile, targeted at least 29 banks and credit unions in California, Oregon and Washington between May and October. according to federal prosecutors.

The alleged ringleader, 24-year-old Alex Moyano Morales, is wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but there is no official record of an encounter with him at the border. He entered the USA as an “escape” or through a legal immigration program, according to federal law enforcement sources.

In a plan worthy of a Hollywood script, a bank robbery crew cut through the wall of a pet store, smashed bank safes with sledgehammers and rented black-market getaway cars, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said Thursday.

The bandits used blowtorches and sledgehammers to break into banks. US Attorney's OfficeThe bandits used blowtorches and sledgehammers to break into banks. US Attorney's Office

The bandits used blowtorches and sledgehammers to break into banks. US Attorney’s Office

They spent days surveilling banks and nearby businesses, used cellphone signal jammers to disable wireless security devices and rented nearby Airbnbs to carry out the robberies, prosecutors said.

During some reconnaissance missions, the bandits wore medical-style face masks along with hard hats and yellow construction vests, prosecutors said.

In a Sept. 18 robbery, crooks allegedly cut through the wall of a pet spa in Fresno, California, climbed into a Wells Fargo, then opened an ATM safe and stole $247,000. according to prosecutors.

Before the break-in, one of the suspects was captured on surveillance video distracting a store employee while an accomplice wearing a hard hat tested the wall’s durability, prosecutors said.

In another incident on September 28, thieves allegedly used a blowtorch and saw to break into the Tri Counties Bank and its vaults in Fall River Mills, California; but they were stopped and fled, leaving their power tools behind.

Prosecutors said the crew committed or attempted similar bank robberies in more than two dozen other incidents, including in the Los Angeles area and parts of western Washington state.

The suspects are accused of using blowtorches, saws and other power tools to gain access to a bank in Fall River Mills, California. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of CaliforniaThe suspects are accused of using blowtorches, saws and other power tools to gain access to a bank in Fall River Mills, California. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

The suspects are accused of using blowtorches, saws and other power tools to gain access to a bank in Fall River Mills, California. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California

The thugs were arrested last week thanks to an Apple AirTag tracking device unknowingly left in Morales’ rented Chevrolet Suburban. The Los Angeles Times reported.

In September, a driver unrelated to the robberies was pulled over by police who later learned that Morales had previously rented the car.

Morales had no idea the car was equipped with a tracking device; This revealed that the vehicle’s location history was linked to robberies.

Investigators found robbery tools, disguises, fake identification documents and more than $100,000 in cash at several short-term rental properties in Oregon and Washington, according to prosecutors.

Other crew members allegedly arrested in connection with the bank robberies include:

  • Maite Celis Silva, 26, Chile

  • Erik Osorio Olivarez, 20, Chile

  • Pablo Valdez Rodriguez, 36, Chile

  • Rosa Bastias Serra, 42, Chile

  • Camilo Sepulveda Guzman, 31, Peru

  • Bassil Dacosta Frias, 34, Venezuelan

  • Camilo Alarcon Alarcon, 23, Chile

  • Michelle Parada Munoz, 21, Chile

  • Alvaro Lagos Mieres, 44, Chile

  • Humberto Jimenez Moreno, 45, Chile