Detective Greg Booker told the Vancouver Sun 36-year-old Christopher MacKenzie was in custody charged with a series of break-ins in the city's Fairview neighborhood after a piece of his ID was allegedly found in one of the homes.

"This case is one of good old detective or flat-foot work," Booker said.

He said MacKenzie has more than 20 convictions and jail terms for burglary and drug-related offenses dating to 1998.

Based on the piece of identification, Booker said officers fanned out to pawn shops, which require identification, and linked the thefts with pawned items. The newspaper said the thefts involved mostly Canadian aboriginal, Asian and African art and jewelry, worth tens of thousands of dollars.