A Hong Kong investor held hostage in South China's Guangdong Province for 54 hours has been rescued and his alleged kidnappers detained, local police announced Thursday.

The case was one of several major crimes in the area solved this month, the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security said at a press conference.

On August 8, the bureau received a report from the father of the hostage, identified only by his family name Lau.

Lau's father, 65, who lives in Dongguan, received a phone call from the kidnappers demanding HK$6 million (US$770,218) plus 4 million yuan (US$481,928) for the release of his son.

After more than two days of investigation, the task force led by Zheng Dong, deputy director-general of the public security bureau, launched a raid on the alleged kidnappers in the city of Yangjiang in western Guangdong on August 10.

The hostage was rescued and suspects detained.

Police also seized a sedan car, two guns, bullets and other incriminating evidence.

And on August 5, police at Foshan in Guangdong Province also solved a major case of theft, detaining three suspects.

Two brothers were robbed when they went to a black market money-changer to convert 1.06 million yuan (US$128,490) into Hong Kong dollars.

The robbery caused central and provincial governments great concern. Zhou Yongkang, Minister of Public Security, who was in Guangdong for an inspection tour at the time, urged local police to solve the case as soon as possible.

After a week of investigation, the police had suspects in custody.

The kidnapping and robbery are just two of six big criminal cases that have been cracked in Guangdong this month. Others involved murder and gambling.

Addressing a press conference Thursday, Zheng Dong from the bureau said he believed several criminal gangs that used to be active in Guangdong - which borders Hong Kong and Macao - have also been smashed.

More than 50 suspects, including several Hong Kong residents, have been detained, according to the police.

In another development, Guangzhou police are still investigating a deadly explosion at a hotel in Guangzhou's Baiyun District on Wednesday.

A hotel security guard died and three guests were injured in the blast.

A masked man drove a van into the lobby of Yidong Hotel near Baiyun International Airport at about 5 am on Wednesday and fired a handmade gun at two oil barrels in the van, triggering the explosion. The man escaped in the wake of the blast.

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