A 20-year-old man from Bergen op Zoom was arrested on Tuesday in a large-scale investigation into fake police officers. A 22-year-old man from Woensdrecht was arrested for this in January. Both men are suspected of recruiting minors to act as fake agents and thus defraud people.
The man was arrested on Tuesday in a house in Bergen op Zoom. A firearm was also found during a search of the home. The suspect was arraigned on Friday and will remain in custody for longer, the police report.
Stolen jewelry was found in the man arrested in Woensdrecht during his arrest.
‘Jewelry probably obtained through fraud’
“It is suspected that he has caused victims throughout the country,” the police said in January. The man was tracked down by four investigative teams and a cyber team from the Regional Investigation Service.
Several pieces of jewelry were found in his house in Woensdrecht. “We suspect that these were obtained through fraud.”
This is how fake cops work
The police have been warning for years about criminals posing as police officers. “The fake officers often call you first or send a letter on behalf of the police. They can then, for example, refer to (armed) burglaries in your neighborhood and indicate that you also seem to be a victim of this,” the police say.
Then someone comes along. “They offer to quickly collect your valuables from your home and supposedly keep them safe. Sometimes they pass on a code, which the person at the door will pass on to you. The scammers do this to create trust.”
