Justin Bieber is wanted by police in Rio de Janeiro for spraying a hotel wall with graffiti.

An inquiry has been started into the 'act of vandalism' by the singer after he defaced the side of a £23 million hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

And a police spokesman said the Canadian could be arrested when he next tries to enter Brazil.

The singer, 19, along with friends and bodyguards, was seen spraying the wall in the city's upmarket district of Sao Conrado at around 3am on Tuesday morning.

As well as childish drawings of faces and baseball caps, the teen star scribbled phrases such as 'Bielibers 4 life' and 'respect privacy' on the side of the private property.

The hotel - which is being renovated - was bought by a group of Brazilian businessman in 2009 for around £23 million.

Local newspaper photographers trying to take pictures of the Canadian idol reportedly had to call police after being attacked by members of the singer's entourage.

One paparazzo claimed he was left half-naked after having his clothes ripped off by Bieber's bodyguards.

Another's car was reportedly pelted with bricks they had ripped from the cobblestone pavement.

The singer was later reported to have stuck up his middle finger and shouted 'suck my d***' to photographers trying to snap him in the act.

Graffiti is a considered a crime of vandalism in Brazil which carries a jail sentence of between three months to one year.

According to civil police chief Antonio Ricardo, officers tried to locate the Canadian after he left the wall at around 6am.

He was later spotted exercising on the nearby Barra de Tijuca
beach.

Last night, officers entered the private mansion rented by Bieber during his stay in Brazil, but the singer had already left the country.

Today Bieber's Brazilian bodyguards were giving statements at a police station in Rio's Gavea district after the hotel's owners confirmed they had not given the singer permission for the graffiti.

He is now in Paraguay, where he will perform in capital Asuncion tonight.

Rio's military police today confirmed they had also started an investigation into why officers, who arrived at the scene after being called by photographers, failed to arrest the star.

Bieber arrived in Brazil on Friday, reserving an entire floor in the famous Copacabana Palace hotel where he stayed in the presidential suite.

His controversial passage through the country began that night, when he was seen leaving a high-class brothel in the city, covered in a bed sheet.

According to reports, he paid for two prostitutes to return with him to the hotel, which refused to let them enter.

Bieber reportedly tried other hotels in the beachside city before heading to a rented mansion in a luxury condo in Rio's Joa district, where he stayed and later threw a party for 30 hand-picked girls.

On Saturday the singer cut short his show in Sao Paulo, storming off the stage after a water bottle thrown from the crowd knocked his microphone out of his hand.

Instead of staying to sing his most famous hit, Baby, he took a private jet - and a number of women - back to Rio where he partied in a nightclub until the early hours.

Bieber came under further fire yesterday after a video emerged showing fans who had paid £800 for a 'meet and greet' with the star being allowed just seconds in the same room before being manhandled to the exit by bodyguards.

MailOnline have requested a comment from Bieber's representatives.