Police have detained an ex-convict suspected of stealing more than 600,000 yuan ($97,860) in cash and valuables from villas in Songjiang district since August, local media reported Wednesday.

Police arrested the suspect, surnamed Wang, 40, on May 5 after setting up a stakeout on Cheting Road in the wake of a series of unsolved burglaries in the district, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post.

On April 3, a woman reported that a thief had entered her home overnight and taken a 250,000-yuan wristwatch, a gold horse ornament, an iPad and a sum of cash.

The woman did not lock her door overnight, and police found no evidence that any of the villa's doors or windows had been forced open.

Nearby surveillance cameras did not yield any footage of a burglar because the villa compound was built on land with lots of trees and natural foliage that blocked the cameras.

Still, police suspected the burglary might be connected to two other villa break-ins last year due to similarities among the cases.

They guessed that the burglar might be riding a bicycle or scooter to the villa compounds because of the lack of nearby public transportation and because  the burglar only took a handful of valuable items at one time, rather than grabbing everything he could.

The investigation advanced slowly until two similar burglaries were reported on May 2. Police finally caught footage of a suspect from the surveillance videos. He was riding a scooter.

Police set up a stakeout on Cheting Road because that was the place where he was last seen on the surveillance videos.

Wang had been sentenced to five years in prison in Jiangsu Province for theft in 2001. He came to Shanghai to work after his release in 2006.