Law enforcement agencies in Florida are warning that illegal immigrant gangs are taking advantage of the recent hurricanes to go on looting sprees.
In Pinellas County, the sheriff's office reported that 41 out of the 45 people arrested for looting in the aftermath of the two hurricanes were illegal immigrants. The 41 migrants were mostly from Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras and Venezuela. (Related: FEMA doesn't have enough money to get through hurricane season after spending $640 million on MIGRANTS.)
Pinellas County, which covers Clearwater and St. Petersburg on Florida's west coast, was struck by Hurricanes Helene and Milton at the end of September and the beginning of October, with many homes and businesses left devastated.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said his team spent the past few weeks conducting looting patrols on the barrier islands that run along the edge of the peninsula, finding dozens of people trying to take advantage of empty streets and properties.
Aside from arresting 45 people for a variety of crimes, including armed robbery, vandalism and trespassing, deputies also encountered 196 probable criminals. Out of those, 163 were not U.S. citizens and their immigration statuses were not immediately clear.
"A lot of these people were in the area to take other people's property, and our deputies' efforts prevented additional crimes from occurring," Gualtieri said at a press conference. "As the Pinellas beaches recover, we're gonna continue these patrols and arrest everyone we can who is stealing from the vulnerable of two back-to-back storms that have devastated our community.”
Gualtieri said 80 additional deputies were deployed to areas in the county where residents were ordered to evacuate in order to keep the community safe.
Criminals also taking advantage of hurricane survivors
In addition to the looters, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office also reported charging dozens of other people of attempting to scam hurricane victims out of a grand total of $250 million for repairs they never did – and in most cases likely never intended to do.
"Our effort to protect the community has not stopped with these hurricanes' direct impact," the sheriff said in a statement. "We are now focused on protecting our residents and our businesses who are desperate to rebuild and get on with their lives."
Gualtieri released a statement warning about how it is common for residents and business owners to be exploited by fake or unlicensed contractors after natural disasters.
"These people are simply scammers and thieves and no different than the people in the neighborhoods at 3 a.m. breaking into a house that we have been arresting," said Gualtieri, adding that victims of both scammers and looters are being "double victimized" after losing so much already.
Undercover detectives working with both local police and the sheriff's office have arrested 58 people on 102 charges of trying to carry out plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, roofing and structural work without a license. Gualtieri said his team and other police departments in the country would continue their work to protect residents.
"Don't come to Pinellas County and steal in these storm-ravaged communities, don't prey on people who are trying to recover, because if you do, you're going to go to jail on multiple felony charges," he added.
Watch this news broadcast from WTVT, Fox's affiliate station for Tampa, Florida, providing a quick update on recovery efforts in the area.
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