WILLEMSTAD – Authorities in Curaçao are investigating whether the same organized group was responsible for four burglaries carried out in the early hours of Monday at two KFC restaurants, a McDonald’s location and a Corendon storage facility at Curaçao International Airport.
According to the newspaper Èxtra, which cites sources familiar with the investigation, indications have emerged that investigators are treating the four burglaries as potentially connected.
One of the central questions is how the perpetrators managed to target four separate locations within roughly the same period. Investigators are reportedly considering the possibility that the group divided into several teams to carry out the operations.
The suspects are also believed to have used heavy-duty equipment previously stolen from the Curaçao Fire Department. That equipment may have helped the perpetrators force their way into buildings and break open safes.
At the KFC and McDonald’s locations, safes were reportedly forced open. The exact amount of money stolen has not been disclosed, although sources cited by Èxtra describe the amounts as substantial.
Police are reportedly examining surveillance footage collected from around the different crime scenes to determine whether the same suspects or vehicles appear at multiple locations.
Some of the footage provides relatively clear images of vehicles believed to have been involved, including their make, color and license plates. Investigators are reportedly also checking whether any of those vehicles had been stolen.
A fifth burglary took place during the same night at an office belonging to Hotel Papagayo. That incident is not known to have been formally included in the investigation into the other four burglaries.
However, the timing has attracted attention. A safe was reportedly also broken open at Papagayo and a significant amount of money was allegedly taken.
The Curaçao Police Force has not yet publicly provided detailed information about the broader investigation or confirmed that all of the incidents are connected.
The suspects remain at large.