International theft ring targeting elite athletes arrested after Del Potro home robbery

A security camera at a gas station in Ayacucho, a town in the center-east of Buenos Aires Province, captured the moment that would unravel an international theft ring. Five men—four Chileans and one Argentine—were filmed loading fuel into a Chevrolet Astra on May 15th, hours after robbing the home of tennis legend Juan Martín del Potro in the nearby city of Tandil. That grainy footage became the linchpin in a case that would eventually connect the gang to a sprawling pattern of burglaries targeting elite athletes across Argentina and the United States, drawing the attention of the FBI, Interpol, and American criminal investigators.

The robbery itself was methodical. Between 5 and 7 p.m. that May afternoon, the five men arrived at the Del Potro family property in a gray sedan. Three of them entered through an opening in the house while two remained outside as lookouts, circling the neighborhood to watch for police or witnesses. Inside, they moved quickly, gathering what they could carry: a gold chain with a cross pendant, a wedding band inscribed with a date and the name Patricia—belonging to del Potro's mother—luxury watches, imported perfumes, cash, jewelry, and sports medals earned during the former player's professional career. They also took a white and yellow Babolat tennis racket, a Rolex watch, and other items of deep sentimental value to the family. Within minutes, they were gone, collected by the waiting car and driven toward Buenos Aires.

The investigation moved fast. Detectives traced the Chevrolet Astra through traffic cameras and discovered it had been cited for a violation in Buenos Aires days before the robbery. The driver was identified as Ignacio Aquiles Zúñiga Cartes, a Chilean with a criminal history connected to an organization already under investigation in the United States for targeting the homes of famous athletes. A second driver, Walter Damián D'Amelio, an Argentine, also came under immediate suspicion. But the real breakthrough came when investigators reconstructed the gang's movements after the theft and found that the Astra had stopped at a Puma gas station in Ayacucho, at the intersection of provincial routes 29 and 74. The security cameras there captured clear images of the occupants—faces, builds, clothing—and those images became the evidence that tied everyone to the crime.

What emerged from deeper investigation was the scope of the operation. Zúñiga Cartes and a second Chilean, Bastián Ignacio Jiménez Frereuy, were part of a criminal organization with an international arrest warrant issued by the state of Florida. Both had red alerts from Interpol. They were being investigated for robberies committed against elite American athletes, including Travis Kelce, the NFL player and partner of Taylor Swift, as well as Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Bobby Portis Jr. The pattern was consistent: the gang would wait for their targets to be away competing, then break into homes through windows or doors, stealing cash, jewelry, luxury watches, and other high-value items with both monetary and sentimental worth.

The arrests came swiftly. Working with Interpol and police at the Retiro bus terminal in Buenos Aires, officers detained Zúñiga Cartes and Jiménez Frereuy as they attempted to board a bus bound for Misiones Province. Both were held pending orders from federal criminal courts in the capital, though they also faced charges from the Tandil court for the del Potro robbery. The investigation continued through the night. Phone intercepts and surveillance reports indicated that other gang members were moving along Provincial Route 7, apparently heading toward Chile. Officers from the Junín detective division and highway security intercepted a black Fiat Cronos carrying D'Amelio and two other Chileans, Rodolfo Esteban Cartes Escobar and Alfredo Eduardo Espinoza Gallardo. D'Amelio was detained on robbery charges; the others were apprehended pending formal detention requests.

Physical evidence strengthened the case. Jiménez Frereuy bore injuries consistent with bloodstains found inside the del Potro home during forensic examination. Both vehicles—the Astra used in the Tandil robbery and the Cronos in which the suspects were traveling—were seized and submitted for further analysis. The charges are serious: aggravated robbery by breaking and entering, committed in a populated area and by an organized group. The three suspects arrested in Junín were scheduled to be transferred to Tandil this week to give statements as defendants in the case. The investigation, led by prosecutor José Marcos Eguzquiza and involving multiple courts in Tandil and Azul, continues to expand as authorities work to determine the full scope of the organization's activities and whether additional targets or gang members remain at large.