Violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recruiting NYC migrants for crime ring

NYPD investigating suspected migrant crime ring

FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt takes a closer look at how the operation allegedly works.

NEW YORK CITY - The NYPD expressed new concerns about wider criminal networks recruiting NYC migrants after violent incidents attributed to migrant shelter residents gained national attention in recent weeks.

According to authorities, kingpins from the brutal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua are orchestrating brazen moped robberies throughout the city.

FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt spoke to NYPD officials about how this criminal ring operates.

What is Tren de Aragua?

Tren de Aragua, which translates to Aragua Train, began in 2012 among trade union members in the Aragua province of Venezuela who used the country's rail system for crime, according to the New York Post.

The gang is involved in robberies, drug dealing and human trafficking throughout South America, and authorities warn that the group is looking to expand its international empire, according to the Post.

Peruvian police carry out the transfer of several members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization in Lima on October 5, 2023. (Photo by CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Deputy Inspector Nicholas Fiore of the NYPD's Crimes Against Persons Unit told FOX 5 NY that Tren de Aragua's savage, bloody crimes are similar to MS-13, the violent street gang responsible for dozens of murders throughout the NYC area.

"We were working off intelligence that there was an MS-13-like crew that was coming to America and committing these crimes," Fiore said.

He said Tren de Aragua leaders made their way across the border into New York last December and are using WhatsApp to recruit NYC migrants.

"Those [WhatsApp messages] go to shelters all over the city," Fiore said. "Imagine making a couple of bucks if you're driving that scooter … If you're stealing the phones, you could be getting $300 to $600 per cellphone."

Moped crime ring: From stealing phones to draining bank accounts

Fiore said the NYPD recorded a "tremendous" surge in moped robberies that they believe are orchestrated by Tren de Aragua recruits.

"There are orders coming from Columbia and from Venezuela, [they move] to Miami and then to New York," Fiore said.

Deputy Inspector Nicholas Fiore in the NYPD's Crimes Against Persons Unit

According to Fiore, the NYPD reported 160 moped robbery patterns from April 2023 to January 2024 – compared to 62 from April 2022 to January 2023. He said one robbery pattern could include up to 20 crimes.

Here's how they work: One or two thieves on a moped will jump onto the sidewalk and yank cell phones, jewelry and other valuables from victims' hands.

Recently, a 62-year-old woman in Brooklyn was dragged down the sidewalk during a robbery.

Cell phones are a hot commodity in these robberies, as crooks have found ways to use smartphones to hack into victims' bank accounts.

"There was a tech guy in the Bronx that was able to hack into the phone in less than three minutes and empty your bank accounts. That money got sent to two separate places, from Miami to Texas," Fiore said.

He said the phones are then shipped to Columbia and Venezuela.

"You can break into one cell phone, and you could empty somebody's life savings. $10, $15, $20,000. You could then take that phone and sell it for one thousand or $1500," Fiore said.

None of the perps arrested for these crimes admitted to being in a gang, but "it's not out of the picture," Fiore said.

The NYPD also stressed that most of the migrants coming to the city are not committing crimes. This is a small group that is gradually growing and doing a lot of damage.