Fake cops caught 'fining' tourists on Dutch highway
The police arrested three men on th A16 highway near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht on Sunday night for impersonating police officers and trying to fine tourists. They were dressed in clothes that resemble the Dutch police uniform, the Dordrecht police said on Facebook.
At a parking lot on the A16, the fake cops asked a tourist for his ID documents. The tourist did not trust the situation and called the police. The fake cops fled towards Rotterdam.
The real police caught up with them near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht and arrested them. The suspects are a 28-year-old man from Pakistan and two men from Iran, aged 35 and 36. According to the police, the Pakistani man is in the Netherlands illegally.
According to the police, foreign gangs are active along Dutch highways trying to scam money out of tourists. They often approach foreign tourists at parking lots and gas stations, where they issue a fine which the tourists must pay immediately to them. As tourists don't know the rules in the Netherlands, they often fall for this.
"A Dutch police officer will never let you pay a ticket or fine on the spot" the police said. If a non EU citizen is fined for committing a violation, they will have to go to a police station to pay the fine. The police call on victims to note down the perpetrators' license plate number and call the real police.
