On the morning of Saturday, September 20, a supermarket at Gelderlandplein receives a phone call. The caller claims to be from the police and states that a criminal is coming to the store to return stolen goods in exchange for money. The store must cooperate so that so-called officers can arrest him shortly thereafter. A supermarket employee is not entirely convinced and approaches passing – real – officers about this.
When one of the alleged scammers shows up at the supermarket to exchange products he had stolen shortly before, the scam can be executed, and officers stationed there can arrest him; he is a 48-year-old man from Amsterdam. Shortly after, they also arrest a second suspect nearby in the neighborhood, a 40-year-old man also from Amsterdam. The suspects can be linked to at least one similar case and are currently both still in custody.
Fake Officers
Criminals come up with various tricks to scam people or businesses, for example by pretending to be a police officer. However, detectives will never approach retailers in this manner to cooperate in police investigations. If you receive a call and are in doubt? Ask the person for their badge number and call 0900-8844 to verify if you are indeed dealing with the police.
