Lottery ticket thief caught before he could cash in

Police caught a thief who stole around 1,600 scratch-off tickets from a lottery stall in Wuhan, Hubei province on Tuesday that hadn't scratched a single stolen ticket, media reported Wednesday.

Surveillance video showed the 18-year-old suspect surnamed Tan had made off with 1,632 tickets worth 15,960 yuan ($2,596) on late Monday.

Police arrested Tan at his home two hours after the stall owner reported the robbery Tuesday morning.

An employee at a logistics company, Tan said he daydreams daily about becoming an instant millionaire.

"I just want to have money to burn. I dream of being a jackpot winner. If I purchased all the tickets from the stall, I would definitely win 5 million yuan," he said, adding he has won twice before.

Tan said he had stashed all the tickets under his bed and dreamed of scratching them off one by one.

"But the cops shattered my unfinished dream," Tan said.

Officers explained that anyone who attempts to claim the prize of a stolen lottery ticket will be arrested.

"All stolen lottery tickets are blacklisted. Once the winner comes to claim a prize, authorities will be alerted automatically," said police.