This haul of power tools was allegedly stolen from a construction site in the Outer Sunset, by a crew police say was hitting houses under construction in overnight heists in the Mission, Bayview, and beyond.

San Francisco police have uncovered some pretty brazen retail theft schemes in recent years. But there's apparently also an underground scheme involving the theft of power tools and construction equipment, conducted in the dead of night at sites where houses were under construction. And they announced on Wednesday they’d arrested three suspects who were on the equipment-theft side of this alleged ring, as the crew was in the process of hitting four such sites in the Outer Sunset last week, according to NBC Bay Area.

"The crew was operating overnight and targeting homes in San Francisco that were under construction,” SFPD said in a Wednesday afternoon press release. "Officers conducted surveillance on the suspects and observed them switching license plates on a vehicle used to commit burglaries throughout the city across the Taraval, Ingleside, Park, Richmond, Northern, Mission, and Bayview police districts."

So this same gang was allegedly committing these thefts at construction sites all over town, but they were busted in the Outer Sunset on the night of October 3. Officers observed them for a while that evening, and saw them switching the license plates on the car they were using, and then watched them steal power tools from sites on the 1700 block of 38th Avenue, the 3200 block of Moraga Street, the 1700 block of 40th Avenue, and the 1700 block of 42nd Avenue.

And after these four alleged thefts, officers observed the suspects taking the equipment down to an Evans Avenue location near India Basin to transfer the haul to someone accused of running a fencing operation for the stolen goods.

64-year-old Mario Randolfo Pazoz-Cruz of South San Francisco was charged with receiving stolen property. 45-year-old Daniel Gonzalez of Wilton, California was charged with first-degree burglary, receiving stolen property, grand theft, conspiracy, and possession of burglary tools. And 49-year-old Oswaldo Antonio Fuentes of SF was charged on the same counts, and also stolen vehicle charges.

While arrests have been made, this is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at(415-575-4444, or you can text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: Oakland Police Warn of Surge In Thefts of Power Tools at Gunpoint [SFist]

Image via SFPD