20.02.2026 14:32
In Thailand, police teams disguised themselves as a lion dance troupe to carry out an operation to catch a wanted thief who had repeatedly evaded capture, and apprehended the suspect among the crowd.
In the province of Nonthaburi, neighboring Bangkok, Thailand's capital, police resorted to an unusual tactic to arrest a serial thief who had repeatedly escaped capture.
THEY INFILTRATED THE TEMPLE FAIR
Metropolitan Police Bureau teams implemented an indirect tracking plan by wearing traditional lion dance costumes and infiltrated the temple fair where the Lunar New Year celebrations were taking place.
THEY HID UNDER THE LION DANCE COSTUME
In the operation reflected in video footage, police approached the target suspect by hiding under a red and gold lion dance costume. The teams, moving through the crowd, intervened at the moment when the officer holding the head of the covered lion made a sudden move, bringing the suspect down to the ground and arresting him.
STOLEN JEWELRY FROM THE COMMANDER'S HOUSE
Authorities stated that the 33-year-old suspect had entered the house of a police commander in Bangkok several times, stealing jewelry worth approximately 2 million baht (about 64 thousand dollars).
The police explained that the thief had continuously escaped previous arrest attempts and that the stolen items were tracked through charms released on the market and temple visits, leading to his capture.