Thai police don lion dance costume to pounce on unsuspecting burglar

South China Morning Post · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Thai police donned a lion dance costume during this week’s Lunar New Year festivities to arrest a suspect accused of stealing about US$64,000 worth of Buddhist artefacts, police said Thursday.Officers dressed as a red-and-yellow lion made the arrest on Wednesday evening after receiving a report from a police superintendent earlier this month that his home in the suburbs of the capital, Bangkok, had been broken into.Bangkok police said the reported break-in involved “numerous Buddhist objects and two 12-inch Buddha statues”, along with evidence of repeated attempts to enter the house, according to a statement.Investigators later traced some stolen items to a seller known to frequent temples in Nonthaburi province, The Nation reported. Officers had spotted the suspect at one temple but he fled after becoming suspicious.With few leads, police kept watch for weeks before hatching an unusual plan to join a lion dance procession at a Buddhist temple in Sai Noi district, Nonthaburi province.Thai police escort a man accused of stealing about $64,000 worth of Buddhist artefacts. Photo: HandoutOn Wednesday, investigators found out that the suspect was going to meet friends to take drugs near the temple, the Thairath reported.