South American bank robbery crew used blowtorches and disguises to steal $4 million: FBI

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

According to federal prosecutors, the group of 11 thieves, most of them from Chile, attacked at least 29 banks and credit unions in California, Oregon and Washington between May and October.

The alleged ringleader, Alex Moyano Morales, 24, is wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but there is no record of officials encountering him at the border – meaning he is in as a “fugitive” or through a legal immigration program could have reached the USA. according to federal law enforcement officials.

In a plan worthy of a Hollywood script, the bank robbery gang allegedly sawed through the wall of a pet store, smashed through bank vaults with sledgehammers and rented getaway cars on the black market, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said Thursday.

They spent days scouting banks and nearby stores, used cell phone 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 as well as hard hats and yellow construction vests, according to prosecutors.

In a Sept. 18 robbery, the criminals allegedly broke through the wall of a pet spa in Fresno, Calif., and climbed into a Wells Fargo before breaking into an ATM safe and making off with $247,000, prosecutors said.

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

In another incident on September 28, the thieves allegedly used blowtorches and saws to break into the Tri Counties Bank and its vaults in Fall River Mills, California – but were interrupted and fled, leaving their power tools behind.

According to prosecutors, the team committed similar bank robberies – or attempted robberies – in more than two dozen other cases, including in the Los Angeles area and parts of western Washington state.

The bandits were arrested last week thanks in part to an Apple AirTag tracking device that was accidentally left in a Chevrolet Suburban rented by Morales, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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

Morales had no idea the car was equipped with the tracking device — which revealed the vehicle's location history was linked to the robberies, the outlet reported.

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

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

• Maite Celis Silva, 26, from Chile
• Erik Osorio Olivarez, 20, from Chile
• Pablo Valdez Rodriguez, 36, from Chile
• Rosa Bastias Serra, 42, from Chile
• Camilo Sepulveda Guzman, 31, from Peru
• Bassil Dacosta Frias, 34, from Venezuela
• Camilo Alarcon Alarcon, 23, from Chile
• Michelle Parada Munoz, 21, from Chile
• Alvaro Lagos Mieres, 44, from Chile
• Humberto Jimenez Moreno, 45, from Chile