SHANGHAI - Chinese police have nabbed a serial burglar on a crime spree in suburban Shanghai, thanks to a banana he stole during one of his home break-ins.

The man has confessed to taking items from three homes in suburban villages, the South China Morning Post reported, citing local news site Xinmin.cn. The value of the items has been pegged at more than 10,000 yuan (S$1,997.25).

The police were having difficulty in identifying suspects who might have been involved in the crime as the villages in Heqing township were not equipped with many surveillance cameras.

But when one of the victims mentioned that a banana had also gone missing from his dining table, police zeroed in on a man who was seen on a piece of surveillance footage munching on a banana as he rode away from one of the villages on an electric bicycle.

Subsequent investigations pinpointed the man in CCTV footage from other villages where the burglaries took place.

The man was tracked down by police to an Internet cafe in Beicai town on Sept 8 and arrested. He admitted to breaking into the houses and said he had trouble getting a job.

The man also reportedly confessed to having stolen the banana.