Two suspected fake police officers arrested in Braunschweig after a 65-year-old played along

A call to a neighbour

On the evening of Wednesday, 4 November, a woman from the Kralenriede district of Braunschweig contacted police. She said her neighbour was receiving calls from people claiming to be officers who wanted to fleece him. Police sent several patrol cars to the residential area.

The 65-year-old man recognised the attempted fraud straight away, according to police, but he did not end the conversation. The callers warned him of break-ins in his neighbourhood and told him to hand over money and valuables to the police for safekeeping. He packed a bag as instructed, although it contained no valuables.

Real officers step in

The genuine officers watched the man leave his house carrying the bag. An unknown man approached him outside, and at that moment the real officers identified themselves and arrested him. A second man waiting nearby was also detained.

According to tagesschau.de, the pensioner had only pretended to go along with the demand, and the bag was passed to the stranger outside his home. Police described the approach as the moment the operation closed.

Suspects and custody

Police said the two suspects, aged 29 and 50, are suspected of belonging to a fraud gang that operates across regions. Both men have been remanded in pre-trial custody. The reports name neither suspect, and they do not say whether the gang has been linked to other cases.

The case shows a common pattern in which callers pose as police, claim that burglaries are taking place nearby, and ask victims to hand over cash or valuables. In this case the scheme failed because the victim recognised it, alerted by his neighbour, and the real officers were already in position when the collection was made.