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From the New York Post: An illegal immigrant was arrested Saturday for stealing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s pricey Gucci bag containing $3,000 in cash and other personal items – and a second migrant suspect is still on the loose, according to sources.
Noem, 53, was on an Easter outing with her family at The Capital Burger in Washington, DC, when the masked thief stole the luxury shoulder bag, which also contained her driver’s license, passport, DHS badge and apartment keys on April 20.
The suspect, whose identity was not immediately available, was busted by the DC Metro Police and the Secret Service, sources said.
The perp, who is believed to be part of a large east coast robbery crew, is expected to appear in court early next week as law enforcement hunt for his accomplice, sources said. Officials are also looking for a second suspect who is also reportedly an illegal migrant.
DC US Attorney Ed Martin said it is unlikely Noem was targeted because of her high-profile position. Rather, Martin said the thief just recognized a valuable purse and snatched it.
“It was frankly, it was a nice looking purse. This was not an amateur. This was a person, a thief, that knew how to do this. You could see how he scouted the room out,” he said.
According to the report, the purse was a $4,400 Gucci bag, and it also contained a $600 Louis Vuitton Clemence Purse inside it. Noem had the purse sitting on the floor beside her feet.
The thief is seen on the restaurant’s surveillance footage wearing an N95 surgical mask on his face. While Noem was busy at dinner, chatting with family and caring for her grandchildren, the thief managed to hook the purse with his foot, drag it away, drop his coat over it, and leave the restaurant.
READ MORE from the New York Post.
According to journalist Julio Rosas, the thief has plenty of experience at stealing purses. Police have not publicly identified the illegal alien who stole the purse, but Rosas says law enforcement told him the name of the man who was arrested.
“A law enforcement source in D.C. has confirmed to me the man accused of stealing DHS Sec. Noem’s purse is Mario Bustamante Leiva. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin has said the man is in the U.S. illegally. A Daily Mail article from 2015 says Bustamante Leiva is Chilean who stole wallets, computers, and phones in London,” Rosas wrote.
BREAKING: A law enforcement source in D.C. has confirmed to me the man accused of stealing DHS Sec. Noem’s purse is Mario Bustamante Leiva. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin has said the man is in the U.S. illegally.
A Daily Mail article from 2015 says Bustamante Leiva is Chilean… pic.twitter.com/6c1h6nPTsL
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) April 27, 2025
Ten years ago, on March 24, 2015, the Daily Mail published a report titled, “Prolific thief who targeted rich city workers to steal computers, wallets and phones worth £21,000 in just five months is jailed for three years.”
At the time, Mario Bustamante-Leiva, then 39, was in London and had just been sentenced to three years in prison after a five-month crime spree, for stealing phones, wallets, purses and computers. He always wore a large overcoat, even in the summer, to hide the items he stole. The report reads:
The Chilean national trawled exclusive bars, restaurants and coffee shops looking for laptops, mobile phones, iPods and tablets. The Old Bailey heard in one case he even stole a bag containing an entire family’s passports and airplane boarding passes.
Police have released CCTV footage which shows the brazen thief swipe an unsuspecting woman’s handbag from under her nose as she chats with a friend. Bustamante-Leiva can be seen hooking the bag with his foot before quickly leaving the cafe with the handbag tucked under his coat.
The method of the theft described by the Daily Mail ten years ago is exactly the same technique used to steal Noem’s purse last week.
If this is, indeed, the same man who stole Noem’s purse, he obviously made his way to the United States at some point after getting out of prison in the U.K.
Noem discussed the theft in a recent podcast:
Holy F’ck 🔥
Kristi Noem says the swiping of her purse was professionally done 🚨
Keep in mind, she has Secret Service protection around the clock, whoever did this wanted to see what was in her phone
Watch how she describes what took place
One conclusion… Inside Job 💯% pic.twitter.com/CxCoGzqigf
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) April 23, 2025
Many people have noted the irony of the situation.
Journalist Joey Mannarino wrote, “So, remember the story from the other day where someone stole DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse? They caught the suspect and it turns out he is an illegal alien. Imagine being an illegal alien in the country while mass deportations are underway and you actually go and rob the woman in charge of deporting people. This dude is about to end up in CECOT in the worst cell possible. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!”
So, remember the story from the other day where someone stole DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse?
They caught the suspect and it turns out he is an illegal alien.
Imagine being an illegal alien in the country while mass deportations are underway and you actually go and rob the…
— Joey Mannarino 🇺🇸 (@JoeyMannarinoUS) April 27, 2025
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