Hunt for men who posed as police officers to lure woman into their car for lift home in sinister echo of Wayne Couzens’ appalling crimes
- The young woman bumped into the men following a night out in Bournemouth
- One offered to drive her home in a silver Volvo with unknown registration plates
- The incident took place at 3.30am on November 30
Police are hunting three men who posed as police officers to lure a woman into their car to give her a lift home, in a terrifying echo of Wayne Couzens’ appalling crimes.
The young woman bumped into the trio following a night out in Bournemouth town centre.
One of them showed her a false warrant card — proof of identification carried by police officers — and offered to drive her home in a silver Volvo with unknown registration plates.
Three men sinisterly posed as police officers to lure a woman into their car and give her a lift home
One of them offered to drive her home in a silver Volvo with unknown registration plates
The incident happened at 3.30am on November 30 in Bournemouth town centre and police are appealing for witnesses around at that time
During the journey, the men illuminated a blue flashing light and sounded a siren fitted to the vehicle.
She was dropped off at an address in the north of the Dorset town and she was not harmed in any way.
The incident calls to mind the horrific murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, a marketing executive living in Clapham, south-west London.
She disappeared on the evening of March 3, 2021, and her body was not found until a week later.
Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens emerged as the prime suspect and eventually pled guilty to murder when he was tried.
Couzens was served a whole life order and the case dealt a huge blow to public confidence in the Met Police
Couzens used Covid powers to conduct a fake arrest of Ms Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham.
He went on to commit crimes so horrific they shocked the nation and undermined confidence in the police over the next few hours.
Couzens used his warrant card and handcuffs to carry out the crime and had been planning for at least a month before the abduction.
In September 2021 Couzens was served a whole life order, and has more recently also been found guilty on three counts of indecent exposure which occurred prior to murdering Ms Everard.
The incident in Bournemouth happened at 3.30am on November 30, 2023.
PC Jordan Skinner, of Bournemouth police, said: ‘This was a very uncomfortable experience for the woman involved, who placed her trust in three men who did not turn out to be who they claimed to be.
‘It is fortunate that the victim did not come to any harm. Impersonating a police officer is a very serious offence, which ultimately undermines and erodes the public’s confidence in policing.
‘Therefore, we are carrying out an investigation to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
‘We have obtained CCTV images of the vehicle involved and the three men we would like to identify.
‘I appreciate these are not great quality and their faces cannot be clearly seen, but it may be someone can recognise them from the clothing they are wearing.
‘I would like to hear from anyone who was in the area around the relevant time and witnessed any suspicious activity. I would also urge any motorists who were driving in the vicinity and may have relevant dashcam footage, or residents with home CCTV or doorbell cameras, to please check their devices for anything that might assist our enquiries.’
Source: Read Full Article