Montecito panic as burglars raid homes just 7 minutes from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

A residence just seven minutes away from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's £21 million estate was broken into last week according to local news reports. It was reported that the property was "broken into and ransacked" just before 8am on July 19.

Despite Montecito being a secluded and affluent community that houses big names including Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom, and Ariana Grande, the area experiences its fair share of crime. The burglary took place in a home on Butterfly Lane, which is just a seven minutes drive away from the Sussexes' street on Rockbridge Road.

A sherriff's reporter in the Montecito Journal said: "Homeowner returned late on July 19 to discover the residence has been broken into and ransacked. A possible latent fingerprint was discovered on the rim of the safe keypad. They keypad was disconnected and booked into evidence for further forensic examination."

Just two days later, another burglary took place in the morning, where a person cut through a cannabis farm property, and stole items including a generator and DeWalt tools.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to their 16-bedroom estate in 2020, after they stepped down from their Royal duties. At the time, the couple's home was worth £10.9 million, but it has since doubled.

The property also features a large pool, a tennis court, a chicken coop and rose gardens. The Duchess of Sussex, revealed that both her and Prince Harry only toured the outside of the home before purchasing it.

In 2022, she also described the secluded property as "calm and healing", and a place where she can "feel free" in a cover story for The Cut.

She told the magazine: "We did everything we could to get this house."

It is reported that the town has seen a surge in burglaries. As a result, the Rosewood Miramar Beach resort is fully funding a new Santa Barbara County Sheriff's station. This comes as a response to the community's frustration over crime and law enforcement response times.

Officials have identified that the crimes are being commited by organised groups with ties to South American Theft Groups, who study the routines of homewoners and use high-tech techniques to operate easily without alarms being raised.

The new sheriff's office will be located at Rosewood Miramar, around three miles away from the Sussexes' home. The area has also been rocked by meth-related crimes, with several reports each month of people being found with used meth pipes.