A gang of four men was arrested for impersonating plain-clothes, police officers in order to rob foreign drivers.

The gang, which operated in Madrid and Valencia and only targeted cars with foreign plates, used a false police ID.

Once the accused had allegedly waved the victims down, one of their number would question the occupants of the car, holding their attention, whilst the other false policeman would steal the victims’ valuables & ID documents, when “examining” their wallets and handbags.

The four men are accused on two counts of robbery using violence.

This kind of scam has been a constant threat to foreign tourists, who in most cases don’t speak Spanish and are unaware of exactly what the police look like.

The nationality of the men arrested was not made known but in many cases the crooks are from Eastern Europe, whose accents are not picked by non-Spanish speakers.

(News: Madrid/Valencia, Spain)