Tricksters posed as police in raid on East Ham home

by Pat Coughtrey Friday, October 19, 2012
5:00 PM

Three eastern Europeans posed as police officers to rob housemates in East Ham after forcing the front door of a home.

They then broke into a locked downstairs bedroom searched it and took £200 cash and an HTC mobile phone before moving to a communal kitchen area where they confronted two residents.

They claimed that they were police officers, produced a piece of paper and said that they were looking for stolen iPhones and iPads.

Before the residents could check the piece of paper it was removed from view.

None of the burglars were wearing any items of clothing that purported to be police uniform.

After looking around the kitchen the raiders went upstairs and repeated their actions to two more residents.

The suspects then fled from the house in Harrow Road, running towards High Street North.

The incident happened on Monday, October 8 at around 6.50pm.

All three men are white, clean shaven and 6ft tall.

One wore a red cap and light blue jeans, another had blonde hair.

Det Sgt David Pearce said it was an unusual crime as the suspects forced their way into the premises before pretending to be police officers.

But the same advice is given to all bogus callers – make sure in your own mind that they are whom they claim to be.

“Bogus callers succeed because they sound believable, so don’t be fooled,” said Mr Pearce.

“If you are in anyway not convinced of the identity of the caller, do not let them into your home.

Ask the caller to come back later and arrange for a friend, relative or neighbour to be present on their return or ask the caller to contact this person.”S