Man, 41, arrested after impersonating police officer and demanding money from drivers in Bihor
An individual from Arad county, a former police officer, has been detained by law enforcement in Oradea and subsequently placed in preventive arrest. He allegedly wore a police uniform and stopped two people on national road 1, claiming to issue fines and collecting substantial sums of money.
Man, 41, arrested after impersonating police officer and demanding money from drivers in Bihor
A 41-year-old individual from Șiria commune, Arad county, has been placed in preventive arrest for a period of 30 days. The Oradea District Court approved the prosecutors' request for the deprivation of liberty measure.
The man previously worked as an officer at the Arad County Police Inspectorate, but he resigned in March of this year. He was already under investigation in a separate criminal case, being examined for bribery.
According to the investigation, the suspect stopped two people whilst driving on national road 1, in the area of Osorhei locality, Bihor county. Wearing police-specific equipment, he told the drivers that they had violated traffic regulations and risked severe fines.
The first victim, a woman with a car registered in Switzerland, was approached on 25 June. The individual informed her that she had not given priority to a pedestrian and that she would receive a substantial fine plus suspension of her driving licence. After learning that she needed the document to leave the country, he offered to accept 2,200 lei from her, claiming that this would allow her to avoid the consequences. The woman paid, but did not receive any written proof.
The next day, the same individual repeated the scheme with another driver, this time citing speeding. The latter gave him 2,300 lei, convinced that he would thereby avoid a 5,000 lei fine and a three-month suspension of his driving licence.
Investigators from No. 5 Rural Police Section Oradea gathered evidence and detained the suspect on 5 July. Prosecutors accuse him of usurpation of official quality and fraud in its continuous form.
Source: Agerpres
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)