Police in London are appealing after a man’s luxury Range Rover was stolen from him at gunpoint in a tactical thief, the suspects posed as police officers to trick the victim into first trusting them.
The 60-year-old victim came to a stop in his black Range Rover when he was tricked into believing an unmarked police car with on blue lights had indicated for him to pull over.
He had been driving along Upper Beulah Hill, at around 20:40hrs on Monday, 17 February when the incident took place.
The victim got out of his car after one of the suspects falsely introduced himself as a police officer and proceeded to present the victim with a false warrant card.
The first suspect then instructed that the 60-year-old victim speak with his so-called ‘colleague’ in their car. When the victim approached the vehicle, the man in the driver’s seat pointed a firearm at him.
The first suspect then took off with the victim’s car and the suspects’ vehicle also left the scene of the crime. Both vehicles headed in the direction of Upper Beulah Hill.
Detective Constable Joanne Austin, from the Met’s South Area Command Unit, investigates. She said: “This was a frightening experience for the victim, who pulled over in good faith believing he was assisting police.
“The suspects’ car is described as dark coloured, and is possibly a Vauxhall Astra.
“A blue flashing light was used to give the ‘police car’ an air of authenticity and the men confidently pretended to be police officers. This was a pre-planned and sinisterly well-executed offence and we need to locate these offenders as soon as possible.
“We have the description of one of the suspects, who is thought to be white, aged between 25 and 30 and around 5ft 10ins to 5ft 11ins tall. He is of slim build, clean shaven and was wearing a black hooded top, with the hood worn off his head. He also spoke with a local, south east London accent.”
Police are warning people that officers who make stops while not in uniform will make their identity clear.
A statement on the Metropolitan police website reads: “Anyone approached by a plain clothed police officer should feel comfortable speaking to them, and members of the public can always ask to check officers’ ID closely. They should have this on them at all times.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 7781/17Feb20 or stay anonymous by contacting the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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