Amazon sells fake blue police lights at an affordable price of £10 amid fears that such devices are being used by offenders, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
Fake lights that may help criminals to impersonate themselves as policemen are presented in various versions, including those more expensive with remote control. Some of them were said to be “weather resistant.” The devices may be simply installed on a car’s roof.
A woman told the Daily Mail that she was stopped by unknown individuals who had fake police lights on their vehicle. She called 999 when they approached her car and was advised by response services to open her window. Nevertheless, she decided to bolt.
“I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but when you see blue lights you automatically assume something is wrong, so I pulled over anyway. I was worried as a solo female and fairly scared they were going to chase me,” she said, adding that the fake police car wasn’t following her.
Another woman said that her mother experienced a similar situation, and the offenders insisted she get out of her car for over 10 minutes.
"He was dressed in a tracksuit saying he’s undercover. They had a blue and red flashing light, which is the reason I pulled over, but when I saw him my gut instinct was this isn’t right," the woman noted. "I made sure doors were locked and do not wind your window down to them, just about half an inch so I could hear him. He was persistent for around 5-10 minutes, eventually driving off when I reached for my phone. Trust your gut, the police said I did a fantastic job."
Last month, British authorities reportedly demanded that Amazon remove listings for phoney police ID wallets and badges from its web catalogue.
33-year-old marketing executive Sarah Everard was kidnapped as she was returning home from a friend's home in London's Clapham neighborhood in the south of the city on 3 March. Former police officer Wayne Cousins put her in a rented car after providing her a fake arrest warrant for breaching coronavirus-related restrictions.