Video footage has emerged that shows the moment a drug dealer had to be rescued after spending 24 hours hiding from the police in a drain.
As far as daring escape plans go, it's fair to say that this one didn't go exactly as planned. Actually, the same could be said of any situation in which you end up covered head to toe in black muck after spending a day of your life living in a sewer.
That, however, is exactly how 46-year-old Sopha Ardjalee ended up spending his day before he was rescued yesterday.
Before you start to feel too sorry for him, he was trying to escape justice after he was stopped by a police officer for driving a motorbike without a licence in Samut Prakan, Thailand.
As the coppers tried to search him, he became uncooperative and tried to attack them before making his escape. Police later discovered that he had been carrying meth in his back pocket.
The first part of the footage, shot on a mobile phone, shows the police trying to restrain him with handcuffs whilst he attempts to make a break for it by pulling himself into the drainage ditch.
After the struggle continued for a while, he managed to escape the clutches of one of the officers and drag himself over the edge, ripping his t-shirt in the process.
In the end, his trousers are also taken off as he slides into the drain and out of reach of the police officers.
Eventually though, he was forced to concede. A day later, Ardjalee can be seen in an altogether less bullish mood, forced to yell up through holes in the drain cover to ask for help.
He was so weak that he could no longer get himself out of the hole he'd managed to slither into.
Volunteers managed to shift the huge concrete slab that had him trapped about 300 yards from where he'd entered the drainage system.
In the end, he was actually thankful to be taken in by the police. He said: "I was so hungry and thirsty. It smelled so bad in there. I didn't think I would ever get out alive."
If he could have found his way out, he might have got away with it. The police had tried to search for him but were unable to find where he'd gone until residents heard him cry out.
They got him out, cleaned him off and had him medically examined, then promptly arrested him.
Lieutenant Colonel Sanyan Phupanna from the Phra Pradaeng Police Station explained: "We took him for a physical check-up to make sure he wasn't injured during the escape.
"Primarily, Sopha will be charged for drug use and possession and will detained to pursue legal proceedings.
"This would not have happened if he had surrendered to police in the first instance. He could have died in there."
Featured Image Credit: Viral PressTopics: World News, Weird