8 Arrests Follow Tech Heists

Eight suspected members of an organized crime ring that stole more than $2 million in electronics from businesses in Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties were arrested last week, officials said Tuesday.

The ring, operating since 2002, committed more than 50 break-ins at night, stealing printers, plasma televisions and computers, officials said. More arrests are expected, they said.

“They are a very sophisticated organization, a syndication that’s very precise in their operations,” said Cypress Police Capt. Mark Yokoyama. “They know how long it’ll take, where they’ll hit and where to resell the items.”

Cypress police began their investigation in January after arresting four men during a botched burglary at Eizo Nanao Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of flat-screen display monitors on Warland Drive that had been hit seven times in about three years. The Cypress investigators then began working with Irvine police and Orange County sheriff’s officials. The collaboration led to the arrest of the eight men -- all Los Angeles County residents -- last week.

The ring staked out commercial buildings, offices and warehouses. It apparently used stolen trucks to smash through fences, windows or roll-up garage doors. Printers, chips, computers and other office equipment were stolen and then resold in storefronts in Los Angeles, police said.

“They grab what they can within three to five minutes,” said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “They’re in and out. By the time we get out there, they’re gone.”

During a burglary three weeks ago at Axiom Analytical Inc., a Lake Forest developer and manufacturer of equipment for chemical analysis, a surveillance tape showed a truck being backed to a gate and three men using bolt cutters on locks. The tape showed them loading computers into the back of the truck within minutes, then fleeing.

Irvine has seen the most such break-ins -- 25 -- of any community.