It emerged the total taken in 2005/06 was £576,480.

The statistics behind the misery was obtained under Freedom of Information.

It showed properties in the heavily-tenemented Maryfield area and the housing estates in the north of the city were most likely to be hit.

However, police refused to give a more accurate picture, claiming it was not in the public interest (see right).

The investigation was prompted by recent Scottish Executive research which showed the rate of break-ins to homes in Dundee is significantly above the national average.

The most recent figures showed 332 domestic break-ins were committed between April and August — up almost 30% on the same period last year.

Senior officers say they suspect the figures are driven by a number of highly-active, often drug-addicted, thieves.

A spokesman for Tayside Police said, “I can confirm two individuals were identified in more than 10 housebreakings each in 2005/06 — with both individuals being detected as responsible for 24 incidents each.”

The highest amount taken in a single crime was £19,070, from a home in the east of the city in January.

The figures show the majority of such crimes occurred in the force’s section four (Stobswell, Hilltown and Maryfield) and section three (Ardler, St Marys, Kirkton, Mill o’ Mains and Fintry).

In both areas the number of housebreakings — 184 in section four, 153 in section three — was down on the previous year, but broadly in line with the figures for 2003/04.

There were variations in detection rates across the city, from less than one in every five solved in the city’s western and eastern fringes to almost 30% in other areas including section four.

Earlier this month, police launched a city-wide crackdown on thefts from homes to coincide with the onset of darker evenings.

Detective Inspector Willie Semple said at the launch, “As part of our intelligence-led method of policing, we look to identify active criminals — in this case housebreakers — and target them.

“There are a minimal number of people who cause a lot of grief to decent people in Dundee. The motive is usually to fund a drug habit.

“It’s hard to put a figure on it, because it depends on who is in or out of prison, but I would say the number of these persistent housebreakers runs into double figures. We are taking steps to target and arrest these individuals.”