The pair woke up shortly after midnight on Friday morning, to find three officers in plain clothes inside their property trying to dismantle their electric gate motor.

The home owner thought they were robbers and fired warning shots.

The three policemen and a tactical unit waiting outside retaliated with automatic weapons.

The home owner said he was on edge because a house near to his was robbed earlier this week and he thought he was protecting his family by firing warning shots.

"All I am asking for is answers, why did not identify themselves and what was the search for," he said.

His wife hid the couple's 10-year-old twin daughters and their two-year-old son in a cupboard during the incident.

She said this could have been avoided if police announced their presence.

"Then we would have produced our IDs," she said.

The police's Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the officers followed procedure.

"The police did not shoot, they were fired upon and the police acted appropriately," said Mariemuthoo.

The task team members arrested the couple but they were released without charge after officers realised they had raided the wrong home.