Authorities in Argentina have arrested two Chilean men previously charged by the US Justice Department in connection with stealing from a number of American athletes.
Ignacio Zuniga Cartes and Bastian Jimenez Freraut were arrested as part of a bigger group accused of burgling the home of Argentine tennis legend Juan Martin Del Potro, according to the newspaper Clarin.
Cartes and Freraut were booked earlier this month for stealing jewelry, medals and rackets from Del Potro’s home in Tandil.
Investigators identified the accused burglars through a traffic ticket issued in Buenos Aires the day before Del Potro’s home was robbed, per the outlet.
Cartes and Freraut are believed to be part of a South American crime ring that broke into the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, as well as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and NBA player Bobby Portis.
The robbers timed their hits to coincide with away games for those athletes – breaking in and taking off with watches, cash, jewelry and other luxury goods totaling more than $3.5million, per the Justice Department.
Burglars Ignacio Zuniga Cartes (left) and Bastian Jimenez Freraut were arrested in Argentina
The two were arrested as part of a group of five accused of breaking into the home of Argentine tennis star Juan Martin del Potro earlier this month
Cartes (second left) and Freraut (far right) were part of a group accused by the Justice Department of entering and robbing the homes of multiple American star athletes
Among their victims included Chiefs teammates Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes
The mother of the tennis star initially contacted authorities after arriving at his home on May 15 while her son was away, police claim.
Authorities retrieved video of a five-man crew traveling in a Chevrolet Astra near the crime scene, with Cartes being identified as the driver. A speeding ticket helped to track down those involved.
All five are being held in Tandil as interrogations continue and authorities from overseas work with the Argentine government over the 2024-25 robberies.
Investigators found that DNA taken from Freraut, who had a cut when he was detained, matched DNA taken from the robbed homes of the American athletes.
Those robberies in the United States occurred on days when the stars were away from their homes.
Mahomes and Kelce’s houses were ransacked on back-to-back days while they were on the road playing the New Orleans Saints.
Burrow’s house was robbed while he was in Dallas, while Portis was returning from a home game in Milwaukee.
Investigators say the men would travel to the home cities of each player, rent a car and a hotel and wait for them to leave for games before breaking and entering.
