QUITO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed in an armed attack late Wednesday inside a private residential complex on Mocoli Island in Ecuador's coastal province of Guayas, Interior Minister John Reimberg said Thursday.

Local media reported that the gunmen violently entered the Mocoli Golf Club sports court after breaching several security filters. The attackers, who arrived in multiple vehicles, wore clothing resembling police or military uniforms and were armed with pistols and rifles.

Reimberg told Ecuavisa television that early investigations suggest the victims were guests to the complex. All three had criminal records for offenses including international drug trafficking, homicide and robbery.

One of the dead was identified as Stalin Rolando Olivero Vargas, known as "Marino," a leader of the criminal group Los Lagartos and considered a "high-value target" by the police.

Los Lagartos has been linked to drug trafficking, contract killings, extortion, robbery and kidnapping. The recent attack is part of a surge in violent incidents that have destabilized Guayas province in recent months, fueled by escalating organized crime. ■