‘Burglary tourists’ from South America could be behind a raid on the Cheshire home of pop star Perrie Edwards and footballer fiancé Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, according to an ex-Met Police detective. The Golden Triangle mansion was raided by burglars last year
They made off with jewellery and designer handbags worth thousands. No one has been arrested for the burglary on the £3.5 million mansion.
The Little Mix star and Champions League-winning former Liverpool midfielder, Alex, both 30, were at home with their son when the burglars struck. The thieves used a ladder to gain entry via an upstairs window in order to bypass alarms.
Police experts believe Perrie and Alex were the victims of criminals who fly here pretending to be on holiday and then carry out targeted raids in well-heeled areas, the Mirror reports.
Former Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley said: “This has all the hallmarks of a gang from South America who came here specifically to burgle. They would have left very soon after and gone back home.
“It’s possible the property was monitored. It is a very sophisticated crime model.”
Perrie and Alex’s exclusive corner of Cheshire has suffered a spate of high profile raids. Sources say up to 500 burglars from Brazil, Chile and Peru travel to the UK every year to rob homes in areas like London, Surrey, Cheshire and the Home Counties, grabbing up to £400,000 of swag a time.
The British arm of their organised crime gang gives them a car, phone and directions to the target property, plus instructions such as how to beat security systems. Most flee soon after but if caught they are under orders not to talk in police interviews and to plead guilty as soon as possible to protect the gang, sources say.
The FBI and Interpol are trying to crack down on the crime model. A source told the Mirror: “There’s a real fear that Perrie and Alex were targeted by an organised crime gang from South America.”
Detectives have not made any arrests. In 2018, Chilean raiders swiped a shirt worn by former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez during a raid in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Source: Ceshire
