South American Crime Ring Could Be Behind Schuylkill Twp. Break-Ins: Police

SCHUYLKILL TOWNSHIP, PA — Police in Chester County may have connected a recent home break-in to a larger criminal organization called the South American Theft Groups which has committed numerous similar crimes around the area.

The most recent incident occurred back on Jan. 26 in Schuylkill Township's Valley Forge Woods neighborhood on Sheffield Court, police said on Thursday.

When residents returned from a night out they found the rear door had been forced open, and much of the house ransacked.

Nothing was stolen. A half-destroyed phone was recovered from the driveway that contained messages in Spanish or Portugese that police say lends further credence to the connection to the criminal organization, also known by its abbreviation SATG.

SATG typically includes individuals posing as"tourists" from South America, although that is not always the case, and some members of the gangs are from the United States. In other places like California and Virginia, the group has specifically targeted wealthy homes.

"Police departments close to us in Chester County, Montgomery County and Delaware County have taken similar reports with similar victim profiles," Schuylkill Township Police said. "We are working with those agencies to share information in an effort to close these cases."

The FBI dedicated a task force to the group, and they have surfaced nearby recently outside Pittsburgh and in Abington in Montgomery County.