WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — Nearly one year ago, the Theravada Buddhist Temple in White Settlement, Wat Busayadhammvanaram, became the target of organized criminal activity.
Police have now identified 36-year-old Narcis Chiciu as one of the suspects and they are hoping for information on his whereabouts. A second-degree felony warrant for engaging in organized criminal activity was issued. One count of this felony can result in a 20-year prison sentence.
On November 20, 2022, a large group of people filed out of a stolen minivan into the temple. Some of the suspects distracted the monk and volunteers, even blocking the monk from leaving the prayer room, while others broke into the living quarters and stole $38,000 in cash out of locked cabinets.
While the monk sensed something was wrong, he told WFAA in November 2022 that he was scared and didn't know what to do.
"They come, act like they want prayers. And that's what is so distasteful for us. They're really preying on the generosity and the faith here at the Buddhist temple," said White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook.
The temple in White Settlement wasn't the only target. Around the same time, temples in Fort Worth and Irving were also victimized. Many temples across the country were hit last year as well.
Nearly one year later, police have a major break in the case. "We have not laid off on this investigation at all," said Cook.
Cook said his department has been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Dallas Police Department, the Arlington Police Department and the Westworth Village Police Department.
"Where our break in the case came from is some new facial recognition software that Westworth Village was deploying. We were able to feed the video through the system and got a match," said Cook.
The new software, along with the clear surveillance video from the temple, were the keys to identifying the man.
He said Chiciu, the lead suspect, was involved in several civil cases, along with a few cases in Florida. Law enforcement agencies in Florida assisted too.
He said Chiciu is one of the ringleaders. Police believe this is a local North Texas crime ring, but these criminals are committing diversionary theft in multiple states.
"Several across the country are believed to be the same group," he said.
While $38,000 was stolen from the temple in White Settlement, other temples had even more money taken, sometimes $75,000 to $100,000 at a time.
Since the incident, White Settlement Police Department has increased patrols at the temple and worked with them on bettering safety measures.
"We really feel like they are not going to stop until they are in jail," Cook said about the group.
He believes by arresting Chiciu, police will be able to find the rest of the people involved in this criminal organization.
The hope is that someone will recognize Chiciu and send tips to police so they can arrest him. Anyone with information is asked to call Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS or 817-246-7070 or email investigator@wspd.us.