A man has been arrested for stealing property belonging to two players of the Chinese Basketball Association league in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, local police said on Tuesday.

On Dec 5, two Bayi Team players reported to police that some of their belongings had disappeared in a hotel in Taiyuan, local newspaper Sanjin City News reported.

The missing property included two watches, a computer, an iPad and some cash, with a total value of 280,000 yuan ($44,856), the report said.

The suspected thief, a man surnamed Zhao, a former basketball player in Shaanxi province, is a basketball fan. On Dec 5, he bought a Bayi Team shirt and made a fake card. He then pretended to be a Bayi Team player and broke into a hotel room.

On Sunday, Zhao was detained in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and on Monday he was transferred to Taiyuan, local police said.

Zhao confessed that he stole the players' property and he also confessed to six other stealing cases in other provinces.

Further investigations are under way.