NANNING, Jan. 17, 2012 -- A man suspected in a series of robberies was captured with a loaded AK-47 assault rifle in his possession in a southern border city on Sunday, police say.

The man - identified by police only by his surname, Huang - is suspected of masterminding two robberies during last year's Spring Festival holiday in Pingxiang, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He is being held by authorities.

According to police, Huang, 33, would cross the border into Vietnam after robberies. But with Spring Festival drawing near, he returned this month to commit new robberies.

On Feb 3, Chinese New Year, Huang and another man surnamed Liu, are suspected of breaking into a house in Youai village of Pingxiang and getting away with 20,000 yuan ($3,166).

On Feb 26, Liu and another man surnamed Lu, both armed, robbed villagers in Zhushan, Pingxiang, Liu Wenjie, a publicity official with the Chongzuo public security bureau, told China Daily. The Chongzuo public security bureau overseas Pingxiang police forces.

According to police, Huang has many relatives in Vietnam and speaks fluent Vietnamese. During robberies, he would threaten people in Vietnamese, so they would believe he was a foreigner.

When he was captured at 2 am on Sunday, he had an AK-47 and a Type-54 pistol along with 77 bullets in his possession, police said.