Burglaries of NFL stars’ homes linked to international organized crime
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The burglaries of the homes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and now Linval Joseph have been linked to a South American crime syndicate and have spurred a security alert from the NFL.
On Thursday, Nov. 21, NFL officials announced a security alert to team directors and the players union about organized and skilled criminals who target the homes of professional athletes. This includes the recent burglaries of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Sources indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into the crime wave as international organized crime. The league, the NFL Players Association and team security officials have also monitored the spree.
The NFL and law enforcement officials believe the criminals are tied to a South American crime syndicate. The home of former Minnesota Vikings and current Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Linval Joseph was also hit over the weekend.
A source familiar with the station told NFL.com, “It’s legit, it’s a trans-national crime ring, and over the last three weeks, they’ve focused on NBA and NFL players, and it’s all over the country.”
Jeff Lanza, a former FBI Agent with 20 years of service, spoke with KCTV5 about how this group is operating.
“It takes people to do the stakeouts, the people to do the planning, the people to figure out where the players are and to make sure there’s not the controls in place that will prevent these things from happening,” Lanza said.
Lanza also shared why the syndicate is targeting NFL players.
“You got a 53 players on each team, plus the coaches, they’re not going to be at their house. Now, if there’s nobody at the house at all, that gives the criminals the opportunity. Now, luckily, we haven’t seen any violence there,” Lanza explained. “They haven’t gone into houses where there have been people there and confronted them. So that’s a good thing. We know maybe it’s not a violent group. They’re just looking for the goods.”
Multiple individuals with knowledge of the crimes reported that the criminals are non-confrontational and do not burglarize homes while residents are inside. Instead, they use public records, conduct surveillance, and wait until homes are empty - often during games. They quickly steal items like cash, jewelry, watches, and handbags focusing on the primary bedrooms and closet(s).
The alert offered several recommendations such as not posting in real-time on social media, installing security systems and not keeping valuables out of plain sight.
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