Authorities have arrested seven suspects connected to a burglary ring that targeted South Florida's Asian community, officials said.
Coral Springs Police said Thursday that the arrests came after a joint operation with the Broward and Palm Beach Sheriff's Offices.
Police said the suspects coordinated and participated in the burglaries that targeted the homes of Asian business owners.
"This is a trend that we've seen in South Florida that's been occurring more and more with Asian business owners, restaurant and nail salon owners specifically, where when they're at work, they're trying to go about their day to make a living, these individuals will break into their house or commit crimes against them," Coral Springs Police Chief Bradley McKeone told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
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Investigators said they had noticed a pattern where members of the Asian community were being targeted and were able to discover that two vehicles had been present or in the area during multiple burglaries.
Police started searching for the vehicles and found them in Broward on Tuesday.
Investigators followed the suspects to a home in Davie where it's believed they were going to commit a burglary but stopped when they saw the house was occupied, officials said.
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On Wednesday, investigators continued to conduct surveillance on the suspects as they entered Coral Springs.
Some of the suspects got on scooters to act as lookouts for police as the other suspects entered a home and spent about an hour ransacking it and stealing items, officials said.
After the burglary, authorities followed the two vehicles as they split apart. One vehicle went to Margate, where three suspects were taken into custody while the other four were taken into custody near Fort Lauderdale.
Footage from Chopper 6 showed the group of suspects detained at Northwest 28th Terrace and Northwest 9th Court, in the Franklin Park neighborhood.
All of the proceeds from the Coral Springs burglary were recovered, including cash, jewelry and a safe that was removed from the home.
Police released footage of the suspects rolling the safe out of the home and trying to load it into one of the vehicles.
The suspects include six men and one woman who are from Colombia and Mexico, McKeone said. They were identified as: Edwin Nicolas Urquijo, Wilson Daniel Agudelo Restrepo, Bryan Munoz Diaz, Julio Cesar Moreno Arenas, Ricardo Mauricio Llanos Velazquez, Norma Garcia Maldonado, and Jhon Edward Agudelo Restrepo.
Officials said the crew is responsible for around 10 burglaries in Broward and Palm Beach in just the past couple weeks.
"I find that as very offensive because again, they're targeting individuals, hardworking people, and this isn't just a property crime, this is something that is a very serious crime that's costing people their livelihoods and their businesses," McKeone said.
