Police in Southern California arrested three men accused of being part of an international organized crime ring on Friday.
The Irvine Police Department identified the suspects as Chilean nationals.
Police were conducting ongoing surveillance in the Turtle Rock and Shady Canyon neighborhoods Friday night in response to home burglaries involving organized crews.
While patrolling the area near Bommer Canyon, an IPD officer noticed a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot, authorities said.
The driver started to leave, but the officer conducted a traffic stop, police said. Inside the vehicle were three men were not from the area and appeared to have no reason to be in Irvine, police said.
Several items "consistent with burglary tools" were allegedly found in the vehicle. The men also had some sort of pet deterrent, shoe covers, gloves and masks, police said.
Police arrested them on charges of conspiracy to commit burglary, providing false information to a police officer and possession of burglary tools.
The driver was identified as Julio Cordova-Martinez, 55, and the passengers were identified as Ricardo Navarete-Loyola, 19, and Leopoldo Jara-Araya, 57.
All three were booked at the Orange County Jail. It was not immediately clear whether they had legal representation to speak on their behalf.
"I'm proud of the men and women of the Irvine Police Department and all the work they do to keep our community safe," said Irvine Police Chief Michael Kent. "This arrest is just one example of the great police work happening daily in our city."
