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Thai Cops Lure Crooks with a Fake Contest

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WannaGo

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This reminds me of that scene in "Sea of Love" when Pacino and the other NYPD detectives throw a phony meet-the-Yankees event and arrest all the crooks who answer the invitation.

A novel approach based on greed works wonders for crime fighters

Enter police inspector Utane Noui-pin who, with a plan novel to Thailand, a few well crafted letters and a clever marketing strategy has lured some odious criminals into his clutches without having to break a sweat.

Pol Lt Col Utane's innovative plan has just caught six suspects in rape-related crimes in Samut Prakan at a cost of just 15 baht each.

It all started when the concept of using an operation called "You've Got Lucky Mail" flashed through his mind one day. The idea struck him as he was discussing with his subordinates at Police Region 1 headquarters whether there were better ways to catch elusive criminals...

...What the investigators did was write invitation letters asking the suspects to come and collect rewards being offered to them by Sanji Electric Co (Thailand), a fake company. The letters were posted to the addresses of the suspects stated in their house registrations to lure them out of hiding.

"You are lucky person No 8 and entitled to our third prize, a Sanji Super Wifi 3800 stereo with double 3800-watt speakers worth 28,500 baht," read one letter. It asked the receiver to fill in the required information, including his telephone number, on an attached form for further contact.

A week after sending out the letters, Samtep Saiarun, 16, was the first to reply. He was told to receive the award in Bangkok where he would be welcomed by "company staff" at the Mor Chit northern bus terminal.

Pol Lt Col Utane clearly remembers the moment Samtep met his team on Oct 27. He smiled when he was greeted by the undercover police. But within minutes Samtep's face turned pale when he was handcuffed and told "You're caught, kid."

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