F.B.I. Is Investigating Whether Crime Group May Be Targeting Athletes Homes

The F.B.I.is investigating whether a transnational organized crime group may be responsible for a handful of recent burglaries at the homes of professional athletes in the Midwest, according to local police agencies and professional sports league memos.Since September, there have been break-ins at the homes of N.B.A.

and N.F.L.players in Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio, according to local police departments.

The most recent burglary occurred at the home of the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow on Monday while he was in Dallas playing the Cowboys, according to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.The county police did not confirm if the burglary at Mr.

Burrow’s home is included in the federal investigation.The F.B.I.would not confirm or deny that an investigation was taking place.

But in a memo last month, the N.B.A.said that the F.B.I.

had briefed its security team and that it had “connected many of the home burglaries to transnational South American Theft Groups” or S.A.T.G.s.The F.B.I.

described these as “well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices,” according to the N.B.A.memo, which was obtained by The New York Times.These transnational groups go after cash and “items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches, and luxury bags,” according to the memo.In most cases, the memo said, home alarm systems were not activated and most of the homes were unoccupied at the time.

Local police agencies said that in most cases burglars entered through back windows or sliding doors....