Thai Police Charm Netizens by Arresting Criminals as Disney Princesses

In an era where views and follower numbers afford clout to content creators on social media, police in Thailand have unexpectedly joined the game by turning themselves into movie characters nabbing law offenders, with the aid of Gen AI. The cops from Samchuk in Suphan Buri, central Thailand, first caught attention on Jan 15 when they announced on Facebook that a group of Disney princesses had successfully arrested suspects of an unknown crime. A day later, the police said it was Straw Hat Pirates from long-running Japanese manga One Piece who paused their search for treasure to nab a theft suspect who was also arrested for drug use and driving under the influence. The AI-generated images of the police officers dressed in the unmistakeable gowns belonging to the likes of Snow White and Cinderella drew many a chuckle from Thai netizens, with many praising their “beauty” while others remarked that the princesses appeared unusually “muscular”. The Samchuk police officers investigation team had birthed the idea of using the costumes to make routine crime captures more engaging, said station superintendent Kietchai Koetcho, Thai media Khaosod cited him saying. The cartoon outfits were digitally added after they made the arrests, with the police officers actually wearing their regular uniforms during the operations, the Bangkok Post reported. The wish for more engagement was mostly achieved, with the posts also widely circulated. The image of the police as One Piece’s Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and others standing behind a suspect shared more than 18,000 times and picked up by local news broadcasters and websites. The AI-aided cosplaying appears to be sparking a trend, with officers from the Phlapphla Chai police station in Bangkok evoking the Peaky Blinders with an image of officers in the three-piece suits worn by the Shelby brothers in the Birmingham-set crime drama, in front of another suspect naturally. The Samchuk police stressed however that amid the digital fun and games, maintaining public safety and peace in the community remained their main objective. Thai police have previous in dressing up for an arrest photo shoot. In March 2025, Liverpool-supporting police in Krabi put on the football team’s red shirts when arresting a drug suspect, who was seen in the black and white of Newcastle. That effort appeared to be a vengeful one made in jest with reference to Liverpool’s defeat by Newcastle in the League Cup final just days before the arrest.