Warrants link Raleigh break-ins to 'Chilean organized crime group'

Four suspects arrested and charged in connection with break-ins at two multimillion-dollar homes in north Raleigh could be part a bigger operation committing similar crimes across the country, search warrants show.

Wake County Sheriff's office Investigator J. Cardona said that detectives have worked on the case for more than a year, leading up to the arrests of four men:

• Emilio Gonzalo Palma-Godoy is charged with 19 counts of second-degree burglary, 15 counts of felony larceny, 20 counts of felony conspiracy, one count of first-degree burglary, and one count of possession of burglary tools.
• Felipe Alejandro Morales-Jara is charged with 19 counts of second-degree burglary, 15 counts of felony larceny, 20 counts of felony conspiracy, one count of resist, obstruct, and delay, one count of first-degree burglary, and one count of possession of burglary tools.
• Felix Contreras Mackenzi is charged with 19 counts of second-degree burglary, 15 counts of felony larceny, 20 counts of felony conspiracy, one count of first-degree burglary, and one count of possession of burglary tools.
• Rudiger Garrido-Aravena is charged with 19 counts of second-degree burglary, 15 counts of felony larceny, 20 counts of felony conspiracy, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of possession of burglary tools, and one count of resist, obstruct, and delay.

“They would choose their target and then they would hit the home at night,” Cardona said.

Cardona believes the four men are responsible for more than 20 break-ins at high-end homes in the county going back to December 2022.

“We’ve had as high as $1 million worth of value out of one home with the property – jewelry, precious metals, high-end items – Louis Vuitton,” Cardona said.

A homeowner in the Alpine Creek neighborhood shared security camera photos that show the burglars breaking in through a back window last month.

Search warrants obtained by WRAL News describe how detectives used technology to track the suspects from an Airbnb in Durham.

Last Thursday, authorities followed the group to a north Raleigh neighborhood where a team of investigators took them into custody before they could hit another home.

“We did catch them in the process of committing a crime, and we caught all four of the targets we were looking for,” Cardona said.

Each man was being held on $2.25 million bond.

In the search warrants, an investigator wrote, “This [mode of operating] matches that of a Chilean organized crime group operating in the United States.”

It goes on to say, “This group travels from Florida to North Carolina and back.”