Undercover Thai police go dancing in lion costume to catch serial burglar

Thai police went undercover in a traditional lion costume in order to get close enough to a serial burglar to pounce on them and arrest them.

Footage released by the Bangkok police department shows officers dressed in a red-and-gold lion costume dancing towards the suspect as he walked through a Lunar New Year fair on Wednesday.

The officer wearing the lion's papier-mache head then leaps at the suspect and quickly pins him to the ground at the temple in Nonthaburi, a province covering part of the Bangkok conurbation.

Police said the suspect, a 33-year-old man, is accused of breaking into the home of a local police commander in Bangkok three times earlier this month.

He is suspected of making off with valuables worth around 2 million baht (£47,700).

Police said they had attempted to arrest the man several times, but he had spotted the officers sent after him and run off.

They later identified him by tracing stolen amulets he had sold and learned he frequently visited temples in Nonthaburi.

Lion dancers are often part of the Lunar New Year, and the custom allowed the officers to go undercover for the operation.

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Police said the suspect confessed to the burglaries, saying he stole to buy drugs and gamble.

The force said he had previously been convicted of drug-related offences and burglary.

(c) Sky News 2026: Undercover Thai police go dancing in lion costume to catch serial burglar