GARDAÍ HAVE ISSUED a warning urging people to exercise caution when socialising over the St Patrick’s Day bank holiday weekend.

Officers said there have been a high number of detections and prosecutions following incidents of theft in Dublin city centre.

Gardaí conducted a search of two hotel rooms in north Dublin on Sunday and found six mobile phones were recovered, each one wrapped in tin foil to prevent tracking.

A man, aged in his 20s, was arrested and has since been charged.

He appeared before Dublin District Court on Monday for the offence of handling stolen property.

He was remanded in custody and was due to appear before Dublin District Court yesterday at 10.30am.

To date, two of the phones have been returned to their owners. Gardaí are continuing to conduct enquiries in an effort to locate the owners of the other phones.

During a separate investigation, Gardaí recovered two stolen mobile phones and a purse during patrols on Camden Street in the early hours of Sunday morning. A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested when the items were found in his possession.

He has since been charged in relation to this investigation and was released on bail to appear before court on 6 April 2022.

The phones were successfully returned to their owners.