(Daily360.com) – A vicious Venezuelan gang is believed to be setting up a criminal network in New York City and draining victim’s bank accounts. Members of the “Tren de Aragua” gang are known to infiltrate cities throughout South America and, over time, to seize the criminal networks through brute force. They’re said to murder prostitutes in front of people on the street, they’re accused of live-streaming murders, and they are known to use any method of intimidation necessary to take over and set up criminal enterprises.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) says the gang is now operating in the United States, especially within New York City. They are believed to be behind the rash of recent phone and purse thefts. The gang members will be riding mopeds and snatching a phones out of people’s hand, most typically from women. One woman was seen on security video being dragged during one of these robberies in Brooklyn.
Once they have the phone their network springs into action. The phone will be brought to a safe house where hackers crack through the locking mechanism to get to the data inside. They’ll look for banking apps or any apps that could lead to securing money. They’ll then ask for a password reset which is most often done via SMS text, and they’ll use the stolen phone to perform the reset. Once the password is reset, they freely enter the app, withdraw the funds and send them to others within the gang network. This is usually done before the victim can get word to their institutions to stop any potential transactions. This process is made easier if they have also stolen the victim’s ID. Once they’re done stealing money, the phone is sent to Venezuela where it is reprogrammed and resold.
The phone-stealing operation is just one aspect of their criminal network. The leader of the gang is known by the alias “Satan” and its members are extremely violent. It is suspected by authorities that at least some of the illegals recently seen beating NYPD officers have ties to Tren de Aragua. Members of the gang are believed to be exploiting the U.S.’s open border and asylum policies to set up their enterprises. Thousands of what authorities call “ghost criminals” meaning they have no photos, cell phones or identification of any kind are crossing the border and being released into the united States.
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