NFL warns teams that transnational crooks are targeting players’ homes after Mahomes and Kelce get robbed
The National Football League issued a warning to all 32 football teams after two players’ homes were robbed by what officials believe to be an organized transnational crime ring.
The security alert was sent to the team security directors and the players’ union on Wednesday, according to the league’s website.
‘It’s a transnational crime ring, and over the last three weeks, they’ve focused on NBA and NFL players.’
Last week, Kansas City law enforcement officials said that the homes of two star players on the Chiefs team were robbed on consecutive days. WDAF-TV reported that about $20,000 was stolen from the homes of Travis Kelce and that quarterback Pat Mahomes’ home was also robbed.
Sources told NFL.com that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into the robberies and that the group might be connected to a crime syndicate in South America.
“It’s legit,” a source familiar with the situation told NFL.com. “It’s a transnational crime ring, and over the last three weeks, they’ve focused on NBA and NFL players, and it’s all over the country.”
The report said that the burglars are very sophisticated and use social media to track players and their families to determine when their homes will be empty. They find the homes using public records and then conduct surveillance to gather information on their habits.
A spokesperson for the FBI Office of Public Affairs denied the existence of the investigation after citing existing policy.
Former FBI agent Brad Garrett told ABC News that sports players are prime targets for robberies because of all the publicly available information about them.
“Their schedules were going to be published when they’re going to play a game, so it makes it easy when to go to the house,” said Garrett. “These high-profile folks are really ripe targets.”
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