Ex-Viking Linval Joseph's Minnesota home among latest targeted by international thieves

Joseph's Minnesota home was burglarized last weekend.

Dec 1, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph (98) during a game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Cowboys defeated the Vikings 17-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images / Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images

Former Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph, who now plays for the Dallas Cowboys in his 15th NFL season, had his Minnesota home burglarized recently in what is believed to be connected to a string of crimes targeting affluent homes of professional athletes around the country.

According to the Pioneer Press, three residential burglaries near Sunfish Lake — a suburban community south of St. Paul — were reported on Sept. 27, Oct. 25 and Nov. 15. Joseph's home was among them.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the NFL has alerted teams around the league of home burglaries targeting pro athletes across the country, possibly being carried out by a "South American crime syndicate."

"It's legit," a source says in Pelissero's report. "It's a transnational crime ring, and over the last three weeks, they've focused on NBA and NFL players, and it's all over the country."

That tracks with a recent NBC News report in which a spokesperson from the Medina Police Department in the Twin Cities metro area — where Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley's home was burglarized in October — said investigators are working with "agencies and other state and federal partners" to connect dots between the nationwide crimes.

Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had their homes in Missouri and Kansas, respectively, burglarized on consecutive days in October.

Joseph, 36, has played 182 snaps on Dallas' defensive line this season.