Police warn of burglars targeting Asian-American homes in US California

LOS ANGELES -- Police are warning the public to beware of burglars who pose as gardeners targeting Asian-American homes in Torrance, a city in Los Angeles County in U.S. state of California, U.S. media reported Sunday.

Burglaries have occurred in recent weeks in townhomes in gated communities in the central and eastern areas of Torrance, Mark Ponegalek of the Torrance Police Department was quoted as saying by City News Service, a regional wire service covering Southern California.

The city is about 32 kilometers southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Ponegalek described the victims as homeowners of Asian descent who own businesses outside the city, adding that those victims may have been followed home from work and kept large quantities of cash at home.

The Torrance Police Department issued a residential burglary advisory earlier this month that multiple residential burglary incidents with similarities had been reported to the agency.

Police said there were three to four suspects posing as gardeners or landscapers in the incidents. The suspects were driving late American model minivans and SUVs, according to the department.

Police warned residents to be aware of vehicles that pull in right after them inside security gates, and call 911 if something or someone causes them to believe criminal activity has or is about to take place.