A Temecula electrician was left scratching his head this month when he discovered two devices, including a camera with a lens poking through a leaf taped to it, hidden in the planter in his front yard.
Is this here for a kidnapping? Is this here for a home invasion? Detectives there believe that so-called burglary tourists from South America have been sneaking the recording devices into the flora outside homes throughout Southern California to track the movements of the residents at specific homes to determine the best time to break in.
Glendale detectives began hearing about the tactic starting in December, said Sgt. Vahe Abramyan, a Police Department spokesman. That way they can focus their attention on the timespan when no one is home. Glendale police believe they solved the mystery when on May 20 a sergeant on patrol as part of a burglary task force created in amid a rise in break-ins pulled over a car whose headlights were out as it left a dead-end street around p.
Officers detained four Colombian men and found a visual recording device and a battery pack charging system camouflaged with leaves, a police news release said. Investigators determined that it was not dangerous. Police in the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside and several OC cities said they have not received reports of hidden cameras.
In Santa Ana, someone who had been following a business owner set up a camera in a tree near his home. Matt Parrish, a department spokesman. In March, Irvine police arrested three men from Chile who police suspected were casing homes. By Brian Rokos brokos scng. More in Crime and Public Safety.
