When it comes to going undercover, most law enforcement agencies stick to the basics: plain clothes, unmarked cars, perhaps a fake mustache. But Thai police had other ideas when they needed to catch an elusive burglar who kept slipping through their fingers.
According to sources, on February 18, 2026, officers in Nonthaburi province transformed themselves into something theatrical. Dressed in elaborate lion dance costumes, complete with colorful fabric and oversized heads, they swayed and pranced through a crowded temple fair to the rhythm of traditional drums.
All the while, their eyes searched the sea of festival-goers for one man: a suspect known as “Jojo the Outlaw.”
The case had begun two weeks earlier, on February 4, when a senior officer with Thailand’s Metropolitan Police Bureau returned home to find multiple valuables missing. Investigators discovered signs of forced entry, and the situation escalated when the suspect brazenly returned to the property before fleeing once spotted.
The trail led police to stolen amulets and eventually to their primary suspect, who investigators believed had a habit of frequenting local temples. Officers made their first attempt to apprehend him at one such location, but their target sensed something was off and managed to escape.
Then came the intelligence breakthrough: authorities learned that the suspect planned to meet associates at temples in the Sai Noi district on February 18. Rather than risk another failed capture, officers devised a plan that sounds like it came straight from a screenwriter’s imagination.
Videos captured at the scene show the disguised officers performing their roles with surprising commitment, moving rhythmically through the crowd as a traditional Chinese lion dance troupe.
The moment they spotted their target, the officers pounced. Within moments, the suspect was on the ground, surrounded by officers who quickly shed their decorative disguises to complete the arrest.
Footage of the unconventional sting operation has since spread across social media.
