Police have detained 19 foreigners on suspicion of stealing clothing from well-known stores in Shanghai, saying they were planning to take the goods to their home country for sale.

The suspects from two organized shoplifting gangs, are accused of stealing more than 1,500 items of clothing worth 300,000 yuan ($48,600) from stores including Zara, H&M, Uniqlo and Forever 21, in Shanghai's Huangpu district, according to the Public Security Bureau.

Authorities declined to release the suspects' nationalities, saying only that they are all from a country in Southeast Asia.