RICHMOND, Texas – Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls blamed a lack of security along the southern border of the United States for a rash of burglaries in the county, which he said were committed by people who were illegally in the country.

Nehls on Thursday lauded President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on border security and immigration after announcing the arrests of 17 people in connection with a rash of burglaries in Fort Bend County and the west side of Houston.

Fort Bend County deputies said the investigation began in 2016 after they received 120 reports of break-ins at homes, where expensive jewelry and purses were being stolen. The investigation led them to Houston’s west side, where police there also reported an increase in burglaries.

The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and Houston police launched a joint investigation and identified several suspects and vehicles being used during the crimes, deputies said. Many of the suspects were placed under surveillance.

The investigation culminated in the arrest of 17 people, many of whom were arrested after committing 49 home burglaries, deputies said.

PHOTOS: Mugshots of 17 people arrested in Fort Bend County investigation

The suspects were identified as: Carlos Alberto Riasco Valencia, 35; Layonel Mosquera Mondragon, 31; Harold Jesus Lerma Mosquera, 43; Reynaldo Rivera Centeno, 44; Jeferson Caicedo Perlaza, 36; Jhon Zamora Ibarguen, 26; Victor Sanchez-Murillo, 38; Miguel Gamboa Espinosa, 41; Jorge Johan Perea, Moreno, 27; Marving Paredes-Arrechea, 34; Victor Alfonso Ayovi Cuena, 31; Hector Sinisterra, 34; Anderson Rosera Gamboa, 38; Mario Hurtado Galindo, 28; Andres Fong Luna, 38; Luis Hernando Mosquera Torres, 36; and Jhon Alvarado Riascos Valencia, 28.

Homes all over Fort Bend, Harris and Brazoria Counties were targeted. Investigators say the suspects looked for homes belonging to people with Asian, Pakistani, or Middle Eastern ethnicities. And once inside, they were just grabbing cash and jewelry.

Yash Tarkunde's family members were among the victims.

"We came back and the alarm in the house was going off. We came back, and they had broken through the side window. And had taken some stuff," Tarkunde said.

Their similar means of entry: breaking a window in the master bathroom.

"Some of them have been deported more than one time, but yet they continue to find their way back here and commit crimes," Nehls said.



And they're not good guys. Nehls says Luis Hernando Mosquera Torres, deported in 2014, has ties to terrorism.

"He has terrorist ties to the F.A.R.C., which is a terrorist group out of Colombia," Nehls said.

Nehls says he's fed up.

"Quite honestly, I think it's shameful that they aren't doing everything they can to protect the American people," Nehls said.

He says the new president's plan to build a wall on the border brings new hope.

"I can't see where it would hurt," Nehls said.

Most of the suspects are on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds, and are all facing home-burglary charges.

Nehls said all of the people arrested are Colombian nationals who were illegally in the United States. He said at least three of them had previously been deported.

“Obviously, our southern border is not secure, because they keep coming back,” Nehls said. “It’s our federal government’s responsibility to secure our border. It’s not the federal government’s inability to secure our borders, it’s their unwillingness to secure our borders. Quite honestly, I think it’s shameful that they aren’t doing everything they possibly can to protect the American people.”

Nehls said four of those arrested were being held in the Fort Bend County Jail on holds from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.