Police arrested three men from Chile on Friday in the sleepy California suburb of Irvine, days after Los Angeles police formed a task force to combat an international criminal organization targeting luxury homes in the United States. .
The arrests come after a recent spike in residential robberies in Irvine, a relatively crime-free area of Orange County located about 60 miles south of Los Angeles.
Irvine police officers were conducting surveillance when a “suspicious vehicle” drew their attention near Boomer Canyon.
Police said the three people arrested were Chilean nationals and had no reason to be in Irvine. (Irvine Police Department)
Police said there were three men in the vehicle who “didn’t appear to be from the area and had no reason to be in Irvine.”
The driver sped away as officers attempted to stop him. Officers were eventually able to stop the vehicle and search the vehicle. Officers found burglary tools, pet shields, shoe covers and masks.
Irvine police said in a statement: “Based on the circumstances, it appears the trio committed residential burglaries in the area, and are charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, providing false information to a police officer, and possession of burglary tools. He was arrested,” he said. .
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Police identified the three men as Julio Cordova-Martinez, 55, Ricardo Navarrete-Loyola, 19, and Leopoldo Jara-Araya, 57. All three are Chilean nationals and were incarcerated at the Orange County Jail (OCJ).
Their arrests come amid a growing number of transnational criminal groups who use State Department travel programs to enter the United States, raid wealthy American neighborhoods, and loot homes for profit. Ta.
Last week, the Los Angeles Police Department established a task force to combat these groups. The majority of participants in these gangs are from Chile, but police have also identified participants from other South American countries, including Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Irvine police arrested three people from Chile on Friday night. (Irvine Police Department)
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has been warning about the problem since at least the summer, calling the robbery “carefully calculated and planned.”
Mr. Spitzer has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for failing to respond to public records requests containing documents related to the issue.
Residential robberies are on the rise in Irvine, with more than 30 robberies occurring on any given day, but only about seven of those are believed to be connected to transnational criminal organizations.
This problem is not limited to California; similar crimes have been reported in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and other states.
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These crimes were made possible thanks to Chile’s participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows tourists and business travelers to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa or going through a thorough vetting process. will be able to enter the country.
Fox News Digital’s Mike Ruiz contributed to this report.
