The young man calmly stopped people and checked IDs, tickets and passes in Debrecen. His “career” lasted only a few days.
According to the investigation, the boy from Nyíradony approached complete strangers with confidence well beyond his age and with an emotionless, steady demeanor. He played the role of a ticket inspector on public transport, routinely asking passengers for their travel passes, examining them briefly, and then moving on. On several occasions, he also posed as a police officer, in which case he mainly checked the identity of pedestrians. To make his role appear more credible, he paid close attention to details and even provided a badge number when introducing himself.
The young man was not able to amuse himself with his self-staged performances for long. Yesterday, he entered a dormitory claiming to be a police officer and said that two students were being sought. The staff immediately asked him to present his official police ID, at which point the young man simply ran away. The incident was reported to the police right away.
Police patrols had an easy job, as shortly afterward a real ticket inspector also called the emergency number 112, reporting that a fake inspector had been caught on one of the buses. After the dormitory incident, the 18-year-old tried to check travel passes again, but his bad luck was that an actual ticket inspector was also on board.
Police officers detained him and questioned him as a suspect on suspicion of misuse of personal data.
The police are reminding the public to always be cautious if someone claims to be an official authority figure. Police officers and other officials carry official identification, which they are required to present upon request. Warning signs include someone rushing you, making threats, or asking for money or personal data. In case of doubt, it is advised not to cooperate and to immediately contact the police via the 112 emergency number.
(police.hu)
