In a high-tech trap set up by British police, a thief who broke into a car was busted after a device in the vehicle sprayed him with an invisible, odourless liquid that glows green in ultraviolet light.
Yafet Askale, 28, broke into a police 'trap car', which was left in Harlesden, northwest London.
When Askale stole items from the car, including a laptop, he activated a spray system which covered his face and arms with a traceable liquid called SmartWater, which contains a dye that becomes visible under ultra violet light.
The system alerted police to the theft on June 10, this year.
The suspect was later located where he was found to be in possession of the stolen property and arrested, London's Metropolitan Police Service said on its website.
Ultra-violet scans showed that he was heavily marked with the SmartWater liquid.
Askale denied the charges of theft from a motor vehicle but was convicted at Hendon Magistrates' Court.
He was sentenced last week to a community order for 49 hours and ordered to pay 400 pounds costs at Brent Magistrates' Court for theft from motor vehicle.
Brent Police have recently been working with SmartWater using trap cars and trap houses equipped with technology to deter thieves from committing crime and also to catch those that do.
Harlesden residents have also been provided with free kits to mark valuable property with the substance within their homes which has seen them enjoy an 80 per cent reduction in burglary and a 40 per cent reduction in street robbery.
"The trap car forms part of an overall crime reduction strategy designed by SmartWater, which is an effective weapon in the armoury of tools that we routinely use in Brent. We will continue to target those who are insistent on committing these types of offences," said Detective Inspector Madeline Ryder of Brent Police.
"Brent Police say very clearly to any would be thieves - Don't come to Brent - our trap cars and trap houses are waiting for you," Ryder added.
