A PROPERTY on a quiet West Kilbride street was raided by police probing a string of gold and jewellery heists in Glasgow.

Officers swooped on the cottage on Corse Street, situated next to the village community centre, on Tuesday, smashing their way inside.

Police were in attendance at the property for the full day after arriving under the cover of darkness.

Five men were arrested and charged in connection with a number of housebreakings at properties across Glasgow and East Renfrewshire.

The raid was part of Operation Virion which was launched after a spate of break-ins where high-value gold jewellery and cash was stolen from 17 homes in 11 days earlier this month.

The five men, aged 28, 27, 26, 23 and 22, were arrested and charged in connection with the crimes.

They are all due to appear in court.

Detective Inspector Gary Cassidy said: “Whenever someone’s home is broken into, the impact on the householder, their families and the local community is significant.

“High value thefts by housebreaking targeting of domestic properties for family valuables such as jewellery and cash is not a new phenomenon. Those who commit such crimes are not bound by geographical boundaries and as such Operation Virion was set up as a co-ordinated national approach to address these types of incidents.

“The dedicated team of officers deployed to Operation Virion help ensure that Police Scotland is in a position to respond effectively to investigate any incidents which do occur anywhere in the country to bring those responsible to justice as well as working with partner agencies to prevent and minimise the risk to people in our communities.

“We are determined to disrupt the activity of individuals and groups involved in these types of incidents and will do everything in our power to bring those involved to justice.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland via 101 or alternatively, make an anonymous report to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.