Phoenix police arrested three suspects connected to an organized crime group from South America on Friday evening in what seemed to be an attempted break-in, according to officials.
The attempted burglary occurred in a neighborhood near 44th Street and Camelback Road by Camelback Mountain, according to Sgt. Phil Krynsky, a Phoenix Police Department spokesperson. Police believed the three suspects were linked to a South American theft group, a type of transnational organized crime group thought to be behind the recent spike in home burglaries throughout the Valley, Krynsky wrote in a Saturday news release.
Around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, surveillance officers noticed a group of suspects in the neighborhood, according to police. The suspects then closed in on the property of a residential home in what appeared to be an attempted break-in, Krynsky stated.
However, the suspects left the property for reasons unknown to police and entered a minivan waiting nearby, he added. Officers blocked the minivan from leaving the area, and its driver rammed unmarked police vehicles in an unsuccessful attempt to drive away, the news release stated.