Authorities have chucked out a group of squatters from a large house leaving behind a grim trail of damage and infestation.

The group of seven men, two women and a child are feared to have left a $1million (£760k) property full of bugs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The gaff has now been described as “totally damaged” by a member of the police who turfed the group out, who in turn are understood to have made no fuss and simply walked away.

READ MORE: American sprints through UK city to station as he 'couldn't spend another hour' there

Speaking to CBS Miami, Mike Fisten, an investigator for the Broward Property Appraiser's office Crimes Against Property explained that the posh pad was “bug infested”.

He added: "The walls are damaged. The flooring is damaged. The windows are damaged. The whole area is totally damaged."

The group were moved on from the Seabreeze Boulevard property after they were discovered by Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

The group’s eviction comes as the latest in a long investigation into the property that involved the deeds of a man called Tyrone Jones.

The Mirror reports that Jones had created a new identity which he used to wrangle control of the house illegally by becoming its executor.

This house is thought to be just one of 14 houses he is understood to have done this with, a scheme he is alleged to have raked in an illicit fortune of £14million through.

Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar told CBS Miami said: "He actually had rented it out to other people that didn't own the property”.

According to Mr Fisten the group who were moved on from the property "know the system," and "know how to stay there until the courts throw them out."

Data from the National Alliance To End Homelessness puts the homeless population of Florida as the third largest in the country, although in terms of total population, the percentage remains low with Statista pointing out there are many states with higher rates of homeless people living there per 10,000 residents.

California sits at the top of both metrics, barring the District of Colombia.

Police are understood to have had the alarm raised on February 27, 2022 when one of the squatters broke into a neighbour’s house.

"My wife screaming, someone's in our room, and my dog barking and chasing him out," the neighbour, who did not share his identity, told CBS Miami.

Kevin Bosley was arrested for the incident but information that he had been living in squat remained undisclosed for around a year after.

He would be released wearing an ankle monitor and returned to the Seabreeze property. When he was removed from the house he was still wearing the monitor.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

Source: Read Full Article