Four properties were searched and three suspects were arrested in the operation which happened in the Tallaght, Lucan and Rathfarnham areas of Dublin.
Gardai from the North Western region carried out the operation after a year-long investigation which has linked the gang at least 80 burglaries in western Ireland and the Midlands.
The suspects in custody are being questioned under anti-gang crime legislation at garda stations in Co Roscommon and they can be detained for up to a week.
They are being questioned about a burglary spree that has happened in six counties – Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Galway and Sligo.
A large number of electronic devices, jewellery including a Rolex watch, €6,000 in cash and designer handbags and shoes were seized.
Gardai said these items are believed to be the proceeds of organised crime.
One of the suspects who is aged in his 20’s was arrested in an early morning raid at his home in Rathfarnham while a teenager arrested in Lucan is a male juvenile,
It can be revealed that apart from using a number of Airbnb’s as a base to carry out burglaries in rural west of Ireland counties, the gang have also been travelling from their south Dublin bases in high powered cars with cloned registration plates to carry out their crimewave,
“When you break down all the various crimes, the modus operandi is about 50/50 in terms of the use of Airbnb’s or simply just driving to the midlands or the west on a given day hitting up to a half dozen homes and speeding back to their main base in Dublin,” a senior source told the Irish Independent.
The investigation started last November when gardai received a breakthrough when they discovered the gang had been using an Airbnb in the Knock area of Co Mayo, to carry out a crimewave in which up to 20 homes were broken into in the space of less than five days.
Evidence was discovered in this property and investigations revealed that up to eight gang members stayed in the property for less than a week and they used it as a base to target unoccupied houses in counties Roscommon, Galway and Mayo.
All these counties have seen a major increase in burglaries in the past year.
Garda enquiries later established that the gang have continued to use Airbnb’s in the west of Ireland since the location in the Knock area was rumbled and continue to be “highly active.”
In all cases, gardai are satisfied that the hosts of the properties were completely unaware that some of the country’s most notorious organised burglary gang criminals were staying at their houses.
The gang have rarely been involved in violent aggravated burglaries but instead have been targeting cash and jewellery from rural unoccupied homes.
When staying in the Airbnb in the Knock area this time last year, the highly organised gang used three different cars during their crime spree.
Gardai have established that they wore camouflage clothing and wellington boots and even walked through wet fields before breaking into houses which were mostly located in very rural areas.
Sources say that a huge amount of garda resources has went into the organised crime investigation into the burglary gang and suspects are expected to be charged with participating in the activities of an organised crime gang.
Cars used by the suspects have been identified and officers have analysed key intelligence about the gang who have continued to target homes in western Ireland throughout the year.
It is understood that the analysis of seized mobile phones will now be key to the progression of the investigation.
“The operation involved the search of four properties in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) where North Western Region personnel were assisted by members from the Armed Support Unit, DMR West and DMR South along with DMR Regional support and members from Athlone,” a garda spokesperson said today.
