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Thai police used AI to fake drag arrest image
Picture showing undercover officers with alleged drug dealer caught global attention but was not genuine
Thai police have admitted generating an AI image of officers in drag, to make them seem friendlier.
Announcing a successful sting operation on an alleged drug dealer, police in Lopburi province posted an image that seemed to show five male officers and one female in bright sequinned dresses, posing in front of a seated and handcuffed suspect.
Tha Luang Provincial Police Station, 90 miles north of Bangkok, said that its officers went in disguise as a female dance troupe at a street festival to arrest the alleged dealer, Mekha Fa-wap-wap.
He was found with more than 53 pills of methamphetamine and 200 plastic bags used to store and sell drugs, police claimed.
The photograph of the glamorously dressed officers and the details of their unusual arrest made headlines after the force posted them on its Facebook page.
But while the details of the operation were correct, it has emerged that the photograph was made using artificial intelligence (AI).
Sgt Rachata Mitrsuripong, who manages the police force’s Facebook page, admitted he had purposely created the fake image, based on a photograph of the police with the suspect.
He told the AFP news agency: “I wanted to create a friendlier image of the police, showing a cute and humorous side, so that people would feel more comfortable approaching officers.
“Sometimes the public feels intimidated by the police.”
Sgt Rachata confirmed that the arrest details in the post were genuine. The original image of the officers has since been published by the police station on Facebook.
It shows five male officers in plain clothes surrounding the suspect. There is no female in the undoctored image, nor is anyone dressed in drag.
“The real one is here, everyone. It’s AI. I inform you,” the accompanying caption read.
Supt Panthep Panadit, a second police officer from the station, also confirmed that the image had been created by his force.
In an interview quoted by Press Gazette, a British trade magazine, he said: “The image showing police officers wearing drag-style costumes while arresting the suspect was created using AI software.
“As for why they were wearing that, I honestly don’t know either. I wasn’t the one who posted it. Someone sent it to me to have a look at.”
By the time the police posted the clarification and the real image, the picture of officers in drag had spread around the world and was published in major international news outlets, including The Telegraph.
Thai officers are known for using unconventional disguises to arrest suspects.
In February, police disguised themselves in dragon costumes to arrest a thief suspected of stealing Buddhist artefacts.
Officers hid inside the red costume during Bangkok’s lunar new year festivities to follow the suspect after responding to reports of a burglary in the city’s suburbs.
