Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

An international crime ring targeting high-end homes in Oakland County is back at it again.

Sheriff Mike Bouchard last week confirmed the traveling band of thieves trained in Chile, have now circled back to Metro with teams from Colombia and Venezuela.

“It doesn’t appear to be a different faction. They are in fact back. We are still working with our partners and analyzing it,” he said. “We think there was at least three to four incursions of the groups in Oakland County in the last four to five days.”

Sheriff Bouchard says they’re using trail cameras, drones, and cell phone jamming equipment, particularly against snowbirds and those out of town for spring break.

“They come in teams with backpacks. Each backpack has a different tool set. Some are the breaching tools. Some are the electronics that jam alarm systems. Very quick sophisticated actions.”

Sheriff Bouchard said they’re watching specific homes backing up to golf courses, ponds and woods. He’s urging neighbors to watch out for suspicious activity, such as slow rolling vehicles looking at homes late at night.

“If you have an alarm, use it,” he said. “Try to get your devices hardwired. Try to have redundancy of communication."