BATON ROUGE - Three people were arrested Friday morning after deputies busted a group of suspected catalytic converter thieves who targeted vehicles across Louisiana.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said 21-year-old Darius Smith, 23-year-old Kenya Randall and 30-year-old Terrance Mundy were arrested for converter thefts "in several jurisdictions in Louisiana."

Detectives opened an investigation into the theft ring in late April after hearing reports and witnessing surveillance footage of the same individuals targeting vehicles parked across East Baton Rouge Parish.

Most of the thefts happened between midnight and 6 a.m. on different nights from Friday, April 29, to Tuesday, May 10, according to the sheriff's office. The suspects were spotted in locations including Woodridge, Briarplace, Industriplex, Glen Oaks, Long Farm, Sherwood Commons and the Jefferson-Airline area.

Friday morning, detectives located the suspects' vehicle at Airline and Prescott and apprehended Smith, Randall and Mundy at the scene. During a search of the vehicle, authorities found several converters that were stolen from the Alexandria area just hours before.

The suspects were also linked to investigations within the Baton Rouge Police Department, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office and the Alexandria Police Department.

Smith, Randall and Mundy were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. They each face 25 counts of theft and one count of unauthorized entry of a business.