Kunming Police Arrest Two Auto Shop Owners Over Tire Spikes on Major Road
Police in Kunming, Yunnan Province, have arrested two auto repair shop owners accused of scattering triangular iron spikes on a major arterial road in the middle of the night, causing multiple vehicles to suffer punctured tires. The suspects have been criminally detained and are under further investigation, according to The Paper.
The Incident
The spikes — known in Chinese as “iron caltrops” (铁蒺藜), an ancient battlefield weapon design dating back over two millennia — were scattered on Caiyun North Road (彩云北路), a major thoroughfare in Kunming. The specific location was a U-turn lane near the Dongsan Ring Road entrance at Changhong West Road, a high-traffic area where vehicles must slow down to maneuver, making them particularly vulnerable.
Multiple vehicles sustained tire damage after running over the spikes. Citizens posted photos of their punctured tires on social media, and some residents reported that similar spikes had appeared at the same location in June and July of the previous year.
The Investigation
After receiving reports and combining them with intelligence gathered during routine patrols, the Kunming Public Security Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Detachment, working alongside the Economic Development Zone Branch Criminal Investigation Brigade, launched an investigation. The suspects were apprehended on the afternoon of May 23.
According to police statements cited by MyDrivers, the two individuals were identified as the owners of a local tire repair shop. During interrogation, they admitted to repeatedly scattering the spikes at night over multiple occasions, knowing that passing vehicles would suffer punctured tires and be forced to seek repairs.
Public Safety Concerns
The location of the spikes raised serious safety alarms. Caiyun North Road carries heavy traffic, and the U-turn lane is situated near an expressway entrance. A tire blowout at speed could easily lead to loss of vehicle control, rollovers, and multi-vehicle collisions. Many citizens publicly denounced the act as “too immoral” (太缺德), while online commentators on Phoenix News described it as “endangering public safety by dangerous means.”
Legal Implications
Under Chinese criminal law, scattering spikes on a public road could constitute the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means (以危险方法危害公共安全罪), a serious offense that can carry severe penalties including life imprisonment. The suspects have been placed under criminal detention (刑事拘留), a formal pre-trial measure indicating that police have gathered sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges.
Historical Context
The triangular spikes used in this incident are based on the ancient “iron caltrop” design, a weapon dating to China’s Warring States period (475–221 BCE), originally used to slow enemy cavalry and infantry. The design ensures that no matter how the spike lands, one sharp point always faces upward.
This is not an isolated case. Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere in China: in March 2013, a repair shop was found to have scattered nails along a 47-kilometer stretch of the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway to generate business, and in 2020, a dog thief in Hebei Province used iron caltrops to evade police pursuit.
What’s Next
The case remains under investigation, with several questions still unanswered. The suspects’ names have not been publicly released, and the exact number of vehicles affected and the total economic cost of the damage have not been specified. It is also unclear whether the same suspects were responsible for the spikes reported at the same location in 2025. Authorities have not indicated whether a broader investigation into similar tactics at other repair shops in Kunming is underway.
The swift police response — making arrests within approximately one to two days of the incident becoming public — signals that local authorities are treating the case with the seriousness it warrants.