Four men posing as police officers tied up the occupants of a house in Bolton. It happened at a house on Baysdale Avenue at about 12.30pm on 18 September 2014. The four men, who were dressed in high-visibility jacket bearing a police insignia, knocked on the door and stated they were police officers and were there to search the house. After entering, the thieves sat the two brothers - aged 23 and 24-years-old - in the front room while two of the offenders went upstairs and began to search various bedrooms. Eventually one of the men asked the family the whereabouts of the gold, at which point the brothers began to question whether they were in fact legitimate police officers. At this point, one of the offenders told his accomplices to cuff the victims, who were then bound by their hands and ankles with cable ties. One of the offenders then threatened to stab the two victims if they attempted to get up, at which point the gang fled having stolen jewellery and cash. The four offenders were described as Asian and wearing the high-visibility jackets with police logos. Inspector Wayne Readfern said: Clearly these men were not police officers nor are they affiliated to any police force in anyway. They are simply thieves who were masquerading as police officers in order to give themselves an air of authenticity as a ruse to gain entry to this house. Once the victims realised they were liars, they dropped the act and resorted to violence. The reason we have publicised this appeal is so that people in the community are not fearful when they are visited by police. Genuine police officers will be happy to show you identification bearing the signature of the Chief Constable and if they are there to search your property will have a properly documented warrant. Our officers make a number of house visits in this community, not just to investigate crimes but to be a visible presence for residents with whom officers regularly talk to and engage with. I do not want this relationship to be affected by this unfortunate and isolated incident. If any officer does call at your home and refuses to produce the correct identification, please call the real police immediately. Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:59:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015