The suspect was arrested at a hotel in Bukit Mertajam today at about 2pm.
The man, from Overseas Union Garden in Kuala Lumpur, was found with more than 30 items of his loot in his hotel room.
Some of the expensive items found were jewellery from Tiffany and Co, Pandora and Swarovski, and expensive liquor from Martell.
Besides that, laptops, iPads, iPhones, Bose earphones, foreign currencies and collectible old currency were also recovered.
Central Seberang Prai police chief ACP Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said the man had been staying at the hotel for four nights.
The suspect also tested positive for amphetamine. Police found five packets of syabu and three Eramin-5 pills.
“Nine of the items found there had been reported stolen to police earlier,” Nik Ros said when contacted.
He said the man will be remanded for further investigations under the Penal Code for theft.
According to Nik Ros, police zoomed on the thief after an accountant from Johor Bahru reported his personal items missing from his Toyota Corolla Altis car parked at the Iconic Hotel.
The 44-year-old accountant realised something was amiss when he received a text message at 5am Tuesday from two of his banks saying his transfer of RM1,500 had failed.
Realising that his ATM cards of the two banks were in his car, he quickly went to the parking lot. There was no sign of forced entry into the car but he did find that his car had been ransacked.
The accountant then realised two of his bank cards, international passport, Touch n’ Go and Indonesia rupiah worth RM1,000 was missing.
Following police investigations, the suspect involved in the theft was found staying in the same hotel as the accountant.
Police also recovered a Toyota Camry car used by the suspect. It had been reported stolen in Kamunting, Taiping, and was fitted with fake number plates.
The accountant’s stolen items were found in a leather bag.
Nik Ros said the suspect did not want to admit to the crimes and was “very much” under the influence of drugs.
“We are now trying to ascertain how he got into the accountant’s locked Toyota,” he said.