Police: 3 Men Caught Installing Credit Card Skimmer At Gas Station

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AVENTURA (CBSMiami) -- Three men were arrested at an Aventura gas station after police said they were caught red-handed attempting to install a credit card skimming device at a pump.

Yankiel Blanco, 33, Alexey Abreu-Chapotin, 21, and Yuliesky Cespedes-Perez, 26, were apprehended Tuesday night at the Marathon gas station at 21005 Biscayne Blvd.

Aventura Police said they were staking out the gas station following a series of vehicle burglaries when they noticed suspicious activity from a black Cadillac Escalade that pulled up to a pump.

An officer said he first noticed the vehicle pull up extremely close to pump #5. When the driver, Blanco, got out, he opened his door in such a way to conceal the view of the gas station attendant, the arrest report said.

Blanco then acted as a lookout while Abreu-Chapotin tampered with the pump and placed a credit card reading device inside, the report goes on to say.

A search revealed four other skimming devices and police said Cespedes-Perez's role was to remain inside the vehicle, preparing the devices for installation.

All three face several similar charges including unlawful use of a scanning device/reencoder and burglary.