Police are hunting for three people after a string of burglaries in Melbourne's south-east in which the offenders used a sledgehammer to break into several stores.

Investigators have released CCTV images of a man and a woman in their 20s they say repeatedly broke into a Cheltenham hardware store as well as a Dandenong shopping centre, a Springvale South construction site and a Rowville hairdresser.

Police have released CCTV footage of the trio shortly before they forced entry into the store using what appears to be a sledgehammer. Credit:Victoria Police

Another man is believed to have been involved in some of the heists, which so far have yielded laptops, power tools as well as cash, an iPad, a tablet-style EFTPOS device and a two-way radio.

The string of burglaries stretches from at least October with the most recent reported last week.