GARDAI have carried out an early morning raid at a Traveller site in Dublin as part of an investigation into a spate of burglaries in the capital.

Our exclusive photos show the scene as a dozen garda vehicles sped into the compound at 9am this morning as a garda helicopter circled overhead.

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Whatsapp The Garda Raid at The Blackrock Traveller Site this morning.

The team were backed-up by six gardai in riot gear.

Armed detectives and uniformed officers forced their way into a number of properties and arrested two men at the site in Blackrock, south Dublin.

Two men, aged 36 and 43 years, will appear before Dun Laoghaire District Court on Wednesday morning.

“During the course of a search of two other properties a number of items were recovered,” said a Garda spokesman.

Electrical equipment seized included an angle grinder hand drill, power cords, smoke alarm and mobile phones.

A quantity of cannabis Herb and cannabis resin (subject to analysis) were also discovered, he said.

A 52-year-old woman was also arrested on foot of a warrant.

Assistant Commissioner DMR John Twomey said: "The search today under Operation Acer is another example of the ongoing commitment by members of An Garda Siochana to prevent and tackle burglaries.

"It is also important that people take measures to protect their homes from burglaries, particularly during these dark winter days.

“Simple steps can help such as turning your alarm on even when your home, lighting up your house when not occupied, and ensuring all windows and doors are properly secured.”

It was earlier reported that officers took away a large number of items this morning in evidence bags that filled the boot of one of the garda cars.

One item seen sticking out of a bag looked like a pick-axe handle and sources have confirmed that gardai seized a number of other weapons in the raid.

Gardai also recovered stolen property which mostly consisted of electrical equipment and tools.

The operation lasted more than half an hour, and it was the second time in recent weeks the site was targeted by gardai.

Sources have revealed that the raid had been planned for a number of days after gardai got information that there was stolen property at the location.

This morning’s operation involved seven unmarked garda vehicles, five marked vehicles, the garda helicopter and more than 20 garda personnel including armed officers.

The mission was carried out under Operation Acer, which is a Dublin investigation in conjuction with the wider Operation Fiacla targeting burglars all over Ireland.

Operation Acer began in March 2012 to provide a targeted approach to arresting criminals involved in committing burglaries and related offences in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

Both Operation Acer and Fiacla have resulted in numerous arrests and the recovery of stolen goods.

Earlier this month in a separate operation, gardai in Dublin arrested 26 people as part of a crackdown on criminals committing burglaries.

Six searches were carried out as part of operation ‘Acer’ in what gardai called “a day of action” and 11 people were arrested for burglary-related incidents.

Five of these were charged, two lodged in prison on committal warrant and four files were sent to the DPP.

A total of 15 others were also arrested for burglary-related incidents, not related to the operation.

Of these, seven people were charged and eight files were prepared for the DPP.

There have been a number of crime-related incidents in the location which was the focus of this morning’s raid including an incident in January of last year in which a man lost two fingers when a pipe bomb blew up in his hand.

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