Men use bogus police badges to rob immigrants

(Chelsea Police Department)

Investigators are searching for these two men in connection with 11 robberies in the past six months in which thieves have targeted immigrants.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Police are looking for two men who have been flashing fake badges and impersonating police officers to rob illegal immigrants.

The most recent robbery was reported Sunday night in Chelsea, when two men dressed like plainclothes detectives knocked on the door of a second-floor apartment on Broadway at 8:30 p.m. With badges hanging around their necks and speaking into what looked like a police radio, the men forced all the residents into a room and stole cash and jewelry.

Over the last six months, there have been a total of 11 such robberies in Chelsea, East Boston, and Everett.

“They’re targeting illegal residents who are scared to communicate with police in the first place,” said Captain Keith Houghton of the Chelsea Police Department.

In each robbery, two men walked into a home and displayed some type of phony police documentation. In some cases, a gun has been shown, but not Sunday night, Houghton said. It appears that the men were using some type of surveillance to target the victims, he said.

On Sunday night, the suspects fled in a white Volkswagen with livery plates. Police made a sketch of two individuals based on descriptions from the victims of several of the earlier robberies. Investigators said that the same men could be responsible for the robbery Sunday in Chelsea.

Anyone with information about the two men in the sketch is asked to call the Chelsea Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 617-466-4850 or tips hotline 617-466-4880.

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