EXCLUSIVECops sound alarm as violent Colombian gangsters ransack homes in Florida using cunning disguises and security-busting tactics
An exasperated sheriff has ripped into the 'non-existent' immigration system after busting a highly-organized Colombian burglary gang that stole $1.7million in cash and jewels in several raids on 'high end' properties.
Sheriff Grady Judd said the three men and one woman slipped over the Southern border and made their way to the Polk County area of Florida to 'attack' wealthy and middle class homes and businesses.
He branded them members of the South American Theft Group and detailed their complex methods to steal property – including intricate disguises, wi-fi jamming and equipment to bypass alarm systems.
Sheriff Judd said Geraldine Galeano-Perez, 33, her lover Milton Ayala-Sierra, 25, Jason Higuera-Ruiz, 41, and Geiler Orobio-Cabezas, 36, set up sophisticated and patient surveillance, often photographing their potential victims as they prepared to pounce.
On one occasion, Galeano – a 'violent dangerous criminal' from Colombian capital Bogota – even disguised herself in a burqa as she walked alongside the home of one victim.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd ripped into the 'non-existent' immigration system in the US after busting a highly-organized Colombian burglary gang
Geraldine Galeano-Perez, 33 and her lover Milton Ayala-Sierra, 25, are two of four suspects allegedly involved in a highly-organized Colombian burglary gang that stole $1.7million in cash and jewels in several raids on 'high end' properties in Florida
Judd, elected Polk County Sheriff in 2004, praised the teamwork used to arrest the gang. But he also used the bust announcement Thursday to rail against the current border controls and deportation system.
He also revealed his further frustration that Higuera and Ayala are now on the lam after they were released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the April arrests.
'We don't have a broken immigration system in the United States of America. We have a non-existent immigration system in the United States of America,' he said.
'Now we have these organized criminals coming through the Southern border targeting legitimate Americans, legitimate small business people, and looking for people in gated communities in nice houses with money and jewelry.'
And he warned: 'These people are coming after you too. And they're able to do that because you have a non-existent system to keep these criminals out of our country.
'They can't keep 'em out,' he added.
'The federal government allowed those burglaries to occur because they won't do their job.'
Geiler Orobio-Cabezas, 36 (left), and Jason Higuera-Ruiz, 41, are suspected of being involved in the robberies
On one occasion, Galeano – described as a 'violent dangerous criminal' from the Colombian capital Bogota – even disguised herself in a burqa as she walked alongside the home of one victim
Judd said the gang was responsible for at least nine burglaries in Polk and nearby Hillsborough, Pasco, Collier, Pinellas and Manatee counties.
They frequently targeted Asian-Americans, watching businesses such as restaurants and then following the owners to their homes. One business owner was wiped out after being hit. Hardly any of the gang's haul has been recovered.
But the sheriff also warned there could be other victims outside Florida as some of the gang members traveled through Kansas and New York after coming over the border illegally.
'What makes these folks so really, really dangerous? They are professional burglars,' said Judd.
'This is organized retail or organized criminal conduct at retail facilities such as our Asian-American restaurants.
'They go to the restaurants and they photograph the outside of the restaurant, the inside of the restaurant. They not only photograph the restaurants, they determine who the owners are.
'They do their due diligence, they search the public record, they identify the owners.
'They set up surveillance and counter surveillance. They follow these people to their homes. Then they photograph their homes and they look at their alarm systems and they look at the cameras in the neighborhood.
'And they have wi-fi jammers and ways to bypass pass alarm systems. And then once they have their victim's pattern, then they attack.
'They will dress in burqas, they will dress in lawn maintenance equipment, uniforms like they're, they're with a lawn service.
Gang members are seen in safety vests lurking near a targeted home. They frequently targeted the Asian-American community, watching businesses such as restaurants and then following the owners to their homes
'They will ride scooters through the neighborhood. They'll be wearing jogging clothes. And once they see that the path is clear, that's when they break in and steal large amounts of items,' the sheriff added.
The suspects were nabbed after they were in a car during a traffic stop at Eagle Lake, Florida, 60 miles from where they were staying in Winter Garden, just west of Orlando.
A suspicious sheriff's deputy documented all their details for the violation and allowed them to proceed. But the information proved crucial to detectives already working on then unsolved burglaries.
Teams from various agencies later followed the four from their home as they headed into Hillsborough County, where they were seen changing into their 'burglary clothes' before they 'went to attack the house,' said Judd. They were arrested at the scene.
The sheriff detailed his further frustration with the system by first highlighting the case of Galeano. He said she crossed the border on July 13, 2021 and was a 'catch and release'.
He continued: 'They catch her and they give her a notice to appear. And guess what, does she appear? No. So they catch her, they give her a notice to appear and she's gone.
'By the way, they'll give you a plane ticket so you can fly to wherever you want to go. And that's at the taxpayer's expense.'
Federal judges in New York ordered her removal on December 15, 2022 and again in 2023 and finally on April 23, 2024, which was ironically the day she was arrested in Florida.
Sheriff Judd detailed his further frustration at what came next, saying: 'We put her in the Hillsborough County Jail under a $32,500 bond. She bonded.
'She was turned over to ICE. Keep in mind, there's an order of deportation in place. We don't have any room for her. There's an order to move her. So they release her and she's bonded.
Teams from various agencies later followed the four from their home as they headed into Hillsborough County, where they were seen changing into their 'burglary clothes' before they 'went to attack the house,' said Judd. They were arrested at the scene
Judd said the gang was responsible for at least nine burglaries in Polk and nearby Hillsborough, Pasco, Collier, Pinellas and Manatee counties
'She was supposed to have a state ordered GPS put on her if she made bond and was released. The federal government said, we don't have any GPSs.
'So did they hold her and refer her back or get the state to come over and put a GPS on her? Of course not.
'So we scrambled around our detectives when we heard, because we know she is smoke in the air. She's gone. And we get an arrest warrant for her and we put her in the Polk County Jail. She's got a $5.6million bond.
'She's got dozens and dozens of charges pending against her. And she is a very, very violent, dangerous person.'
Galeano's charges include racketeering, burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, grand theft of $100,000 or more and dealing in stolen property. Her criminal history in Colombia includes illegal trafficking/possession of firearms and grand larceny.
Her lover Ayala was a 'catch and release' at the border and also given a notice to appear that he didn't keep. He was twice ordered to be deported by a New York federal court in 2022 and 2023.
After being seized in Florida he was 'handed over to ICE… they're about to deport him,' said Judd, who added he fought the deportation but 'ICE was more intent on helping the criminal out.'
Ayala was eventually deported to Colombia without facing charges. Judd warned: 'He's gone. He's pending all kinds of very serious charges here. And he's gone.
'He'll be back, if he's not already. We don't know where he is. He may be in a gated community near you someplace in the United States because we know his girlfriend's here. I don't suspect he's going to stay in Columbia very long.'
Judd revealed Ayala was also arrested on two felony charges by the New York Police Department, where charges are still pending. He is facing racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and handling stolen goods in Florida.
The sheriff also warned there could be other victims outside Florida as some of the gang members traveled through Kansas and New York after coming over the border illegally
Higuera came across the border into Arizona in December 2021 and filed for asylum. He was put on a $32,500 bond after his Florida arrest, which he made.
ICE would not subsequently detain him because of his asylum status. Polk County then hit him with further charges and he was given a GPS tracker.
'Two days later he cuts it (the tracker) and he's in the wind,' said Judd. 'He's gone. So this one is in the wind, compliments of ICE.' His charges include racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and burglary.
Orobio also entered the United States into Arizona, where he later served 170 days for a home burglary in Michigan, the sheriff added.
He was deported to Colombia but found his way back into the US, where he teamed up with the other three gang members. He is currently in Pinellas County jail on $3.1million bond, 'where what he wants is to get deported. That's his hope.'
The sheriff said of the gangs: 'They don't fear the criminal justice system from the time they enter. From the time they enter, they fail to appear, fail to appear, fail to appear.
'They don't intend to go by any of society's rules. And then they steal millions of dollars.'
