HIGH QUALITY CCTV footage recorded at one of their Galway raids is understood to have led to a crucial breakthrough in the investigation that saw Gardaí nab three members of a burglary gang suspected of carrying out up to 15 robberies on commercial premises across the West of Ireland and beyond over recent months.

The culmination of a painstaking investigation under Operation Thor, involving Gardaí in Galway, Mayo and Cork, the three were arrested at two locations in Dublin on Thursday where €200,000 of stolen cigarettes and vapes were also seized by Gardaí.

The two men arrested are Albanian nationals, one in his early fifties and the other in his early forties, while the woman, in her early forties, is Irish.

Shops and retail outlets were the main targets of the gang who had been tracked by Gardaí for several months.

Gardai in the Cork Division had also been tracking the gang who are understood to have moved to Ireland from mainland Europe in the past year.

The trio were arrested under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act and appeared before a special sitting of Galway District Court on Saturday morning last.

All three were remanded in custody to appear again before a special sitting of Galway District Court in the week after Christmas charged with burglary related offences and the handling of stolen property.

They are suspected of being involved in a spate of burglaries in Galway, Mayo, Cork, Kildare and Wexford since the summer.

A Garda spokesperson said that the arrests followed an intensive intelligence led Garda operation, both in the North-West and in Cork.

“The gang had been targeting commercial premises in different parts of the country over recent months,” they added.