Police have arrested four Mainlanders aged 30 to 34, believed to be behind a spate of Hong Kong Island hotel burglaries and thefts from July to September.

About 2am today officers ambushed a Wan Chai hotel and arrested the men trying to enter one of the rooms. Metal wire, string and double-sided adhesive tape was seized after body and room searches.

Police will offer security advice to the hotel sector to prevent similar crimes.