Thai policemen wear dresses, disguise themselves as dancers to nab alleged drug trafficker

Despite their flamboyant outfits, these officers weren't just dressed to impress — they also conducted arrests.

Thai policemen in the Tha Luang district of Lopburi disguised themselves as members of a dance troupe to catch a drug dealer, Thai publication Thaiger reported on Friday (May 22).

The police station also uploaded a Facebook post on Thursday about their sting operation, sharing a photo of the officers in drag.

The five male officers can be seen wearing sequined dresses in bright colours of red, gold, green, maroon and blue.

A woman sitting next to the handcuffed suspect, presumably a genuine member of the dance troupe, can be seen smiling for the photo.

According to their post, the officers arrested the suspect named Mekha Fa-wap-wap for allegedly selling methamphetamine and facilitating gambling operations via social media.

Authorities also seized 53 methamphetamine pills and more than 200 plastic bags believed to be used for distribution, along with a mobile phone.

Mekha and the evidence were subsequently handed over to the investigating officer for further legal proceedings, the post stated.

Disguised as lion dancers

This isn't the first time officers in Thailand have gone above and beyond their dress code.

A lion dance performance at a temple in Nonthaburi, Bangkok on Feb 18 this year was revealed to be a police operation when officers took off their disguises, according to video footage of the incident on social media.

In the video, officers dressed as lion dance performers slowly danced their way over to the suspect before the officer under the lion head tackled the suspect to the ground.

Other officers soon joined in and pinned the suspect down before handcuffing him.

In a statement on Feb 19, the Royal Thai Police explained that the man was believed to have stolen over $81,000 in Buddhist artefacts.

He had allegedly been involved in several home burglaries, stealing several Buddhist statues and amulets.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com