<table style="width: 152px; height: 160px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="152" align="right" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2009/jan/facebook2.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr>
<tr>
<td>
The police have now replaced original images of the robber with pixellated onesu00a0</td></tr></tbody></table>New Zealand police have arrested a burglar by using the popular social networking website Facebook to identify and track him down.
Calling it the "first Facebook arrest", Queenstown police in southern New Zealand posted security-camera footage and pictures showing the man's face as he tried to break into the safe of a local tavern on Monday.
"The offender was identified after a movie and images of him were displayed on Facebook. He was identified from members of the public viewing him on Facebook and also seeing him on TV after the Facebook images were displayed on the news," the police station said in a statement on its Facebook page.
Police said the unnamed, 21-year-old Queenstown native would appear in court this week.
Local media said the man removed his balaclava when he got too hot while trying to break into the safe, revealing his face to a hidden security camera.
"He was a very silly young boy. The room is really small and it gets really hot in there at the best of times," the bar's assistant manager, Mel Kelly, was quoted as saying.
"Clearly, he didn't realise there was a video camera there until the last moment. He looks round and sees it and there's just a shocked look ... His face definitely drops."
Staff at the bar did not recognise the man, but Ms Kelly suspected he was a former employee because of his knowledge of the property.
This is not the first time that Facebook, the world's largest online social network, has been used to track down criminals.
In November, an Australian restaurateur left holding a hefty unpaid bill when five young diners bolted used the website to find them, and got them to pay their bill.
A couple who had defaulted on their home loan were also tracked down by lawyers via Facebook in Australia.

New Zealand police have arrested a burglar by using the popular social networking website Facebook to identify and track him down

New Zealand police use Facebook to identify burglar<br/>

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / News / World News / Article / New Zealand police use Facebook to identify burglar<br/>

New Zealand police use Facebook to identify burglar<br/>

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast