Police agents, attached to the Central Investigation Agency (Dicrim), apprehended six men and are pursuing others suspect of stealing sports equipment early on Monday, 3 October 2022 at the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Academy in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo province. The Dicrim division of the Police recovered stolen equipment that had already been sold to sporting goods stores. The Police arrested a baseball trainer and three resellers, accused of dealing in the stolen goods. The Police says it is on the trail of others identified as part of a gang dedicated to this crime. The Police says balls, gloves, bats and catcher equipment have been recovered.
According to a press release from the Police, the six persons arrested are now in the jurisdiction of Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In its coverage of the MLB baseball academy theft, Diario Libre reports that on the morning of Wednesday, 5 October 2022, Police spokesman Diego Pesquira said that the investigations into the case were advanced.
Diario Libre reports the robbery affected the Estrellas Orientales, a Dominican Professional Winter Baseball League team that practices at the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Academy to prepare for the regular season that starts this 15 October 2022.
National Baseball Commissioner Junior Noboa, who is also the owner of the Baltimore Orioles Baseball City complex where the robbery took place, told Diario Libre that in recent months, eight of the teams operating in the Boca Chica area had been victims of equipment robberies.
Diario Libre reports that as far back as in June 2019, representatives of Major League Baseball had appealed to the Dominican authorities to act to put a stop to the thefts at baseball academies in the Dominican Republic. At that time, thieves penetrated the academy of the Chicago Cubs, located in Boca Chica, and made off with a shipment of props that included 15 Baum brand bats (costing US$240 a piece), 13 DeMarini (US$375), 20 gloves for righties, seven for lefties, three catcher’s gloves, two bibs, medium gloves, long gloves, running shoes and eyeglasses.
Diario Libre carries an editorial today urging the authorities to take action given the importance of the baseball academies in the Dominican Republic.
Read more in Spanish:
Dicrim – National Police
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
6 October 2022