The criminal gang Tren de Aragua is already present in the United States (USA) and, according to the latest police reports, it is operating in different areas of the North American country. Today, various media and police sources have reported an increase in crime in Times Square, where citizens of Venezuelan origin have been involved in different types of crimes that could be linked to this mega criminal gang.
The Tren de Aragua (“Aragua Train”), an international criminal gang of Venezuelan origin that has spread throughout Latin America and managed to establish itself as far south as Chile, has taken advantage of the massive migration to North America and there are already reports of its presence in major US cities such as New York.
The Aragua train has strengthened its presence in countries such as Colombia, Peru and Chile, where it operates at the border crossings with Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia.
As if that were not enough, this group of dangerous criminals is now leading a wave of robberies in the Big Apple, where there have already been incidents involving Venezuelan citizens.
As reported by ABC International, the criminals’ centre of operations was in the Tocoron prison in Aragua, Venezuela. However, it is currently unknown where the new nucleus is, as the prison was taken over by the Venezuelan authorities in an operation that saw around 500 prisoners escape.
With this information, the New York police reported that the members of the Tren de Aragua who are already in the United States are dedicated to stealing mobile phones. They also added that they travel on motorcycles, ride on sidewalks, steal electronic devices from pedestrians and speed away. This is a system of theft that has become popular in Latin America.
To alert citizens to the criminals’ modus operandi, police have released a video showing a 62-year-old woman being dragged down a Brooklyn street clutching a wallet stolen by two men.
According to the New York Post, once the devices are stolen, the victims’ bank accounts are emptied through fraudulent transactions.
All of this takes place in both the United States and South America, and the devices are shipped to Colombia to be erased, reprogrammed and sold.
In recent weeks, New York police have been alarmed by a rise in robberies in the city and have now linked the pattern of robberies to the Venezuelan gang.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny revealed that several of these robbers had been arrested and that most of them were living in migrant shelters.
Let us recall that at the end of January and according to an interview conducted by CNN, Brittin Boyd, FBI agent from El Paso, confirmed that the “Aragua train is in the United States”.
