Police have arrested two out-of-town burglars for stealing more than 100,000 yuan ($16,340) in cash and valuables during a four-day crime spree targeting high-end residences, local media reported Tuesday.

Police said the suspects, who were not identified, came to Shanghai specifically to steal, according to a news report on Shanghai Television Station. They broke into 12 homes from August 16 to August 19, including one on the day they arrived.

The pair had a history of traveling to different parts of the country, committing a series of crimes, then leaving, according to a press officer from the Putuo District Public Security Bureau. Both men had already booked tickets to leave Shanghai when they were caught.

The suspects arrived in Shanghai on August 16 on a train from Guangdong Province, Shanghai Television Station reported.

They usually broke into homes in the evening when residents were less careful and left their windows open while they went out to eat, the Xinmin Evening News reported.

The suspects committed eight of the burglaries at a single high-end residential compound in Putuo district, Shanghai Television Station reported. Although surveillance cameras watched over the compound, police had trouble identifying the suspects because they never carried anything conspicuous.

Police got a break in the case when a security guard reported seeing a suspicious man in the compound on the night of August 17.

The guard didn't recognize the man as one of the compound's residents. When the guard approached to check out who he was, the stranger ditched a computer bag he was carrying and walked away.

After searching for the stranger, police found out he was staying with another man in a hotel near Shanghai South Railway Station.

Officers arrested the two suspects at a food stand on the night of August 19.

They had already checked out of their hotel, and were grabbing a bite to eat before leaving the city.

They were carrying 30,000 yuan cash and a large amount of jewelry, watches, and mobile phones in their backpacks.

Police said they recovered about 90 percent of the stolen items.