York Regional Police (YRP) say they’ve arrested four suspects who were allegedly part of an organized crime-tourism group responsible for 20 residential break-and-enters across York Region and parts of the Greater Toronto Area.
A YRP spokesperson tells CityNews crime tourism “refers to incidents where organized criminal rings legally enter countries as tourists to commit coordinated criminal offences.”
“We generally see this in the form of break-ins, distraction thefts and deposit frauds (driveway paving/roofing).”
In this case, police allege the suspects — all from Chile — were specifically breaking into homes through rear basement glass doors, and were seeking cash, high-end clothing, jewellery and firearms.
Project Towns — a probe into the rash of residential break-ins — was launched in April, 2026.
Investigators made a break in the case on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, when they responded to a break-in call at around 10 p.m. in the Clark Avenue and Dufferin Street area of Vaughan.
Once on scene, officers located a suspect vehicle, and arrested three individuals.
Later that same day, officers executed search warrants at residences in Toronto and Mississauga in connection to the investigation.
“One additional suspect was taken into custody and officers recovered a quantity of stolen property and seized break-in tools and a radio-frequency jammer,” a police release explains.
Police say at the time of the arrests two of the suspects were on judicial release orders for unrelated incidents.
Jose Ricardo Vargas Sepulveda, 24, Rodrigo Ariel Correa Paredes, 24, Danil Alexis Carrasco Cruces, 44, and Rose Marie Monroy Sepulveda, 27, all of Chile, face a variety of charges in connection to the probe.