Dye Trap Nabs Green-Faced Thief

London police testing invisible spray
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 1, 2013 2:35 AM CDT
Updated Oct 1, 2013 8:13 AM CDT
Dye Trap Catches Thief Green-Faced
Thief Yafet Askale, 28, as seen normally, left, and under ultra violet light, after his arrest.    (AP Photo / Metropolitan Police)

A luckless thief in London was caught not red-handed, but green-faced after breaking into a police "decoy car" equipped with a dye trap, the BBC reports. The 28-year-old, who stole a laptop and other items from the car, was arrested when the system alerted police to the theft and was convicted when police produced photos of his face glowing bright green under ultraviolet light.

The otherwise invisible liquid had been sprayed on him by the booby-trapped car. Police in London are in the process of testing three separate devices that spray thieves with a fine mist that can link them to specific incidents through a combination of chemicals as well as turning them green, reports the Daily Mail. (More London stories.)

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