Two Adelaide men accused of impersonating police have been arrested after allegedly carrying out traffic stops and issuing a fake fine to a driver, who was taken to a nearby petrol station to withdraw money.
The pair allegedly pulled over three cars across suburban Adelaide on Thursday and Friday, claiming to be officers and flashing a badge.
In the first instance, police said one of the suspects was driving a red Holden Commodore when he stopped a vehicle on Brebner Drive at West Lakes about 2:15pm on Thursday.
The pair then allegedly stopped a driver on Marion Road at Marion about 1:15am on Friday.
"They identified themselves to the driver as police officers before issuing him with a fine and driving him to a petrol station to withdraw money," police said in a statement.
"He was returned to his vehicle and the men took an amount of money from him before leaving the area."
Hours later, just before 1:00pm, another car was halted on Frederick Road at Royal Park, with one of the men allegedly showing a badge.
"The victim questioned the validity of the suspect and he returned to his car and drove off," police said.
A 34-year-old from Highbury in Adelaide's north-east and a 28-year-old from Findon in Adelaide's west have both been arrested and will appear before the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday.
The 34-year-old was charged with three counts of impersonating a police officer, unlawful detention, aggravated robbery and two counts of driving disqualified.
The 28-year-old was arrested near the small town of Dublin, about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide, late last night and was also charged with impersonating an officer.
Police have issued a warning to the public, saying officers never request that payments be paid on the spot.
