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Australian Man Impersonated Police, Cops Say, But He Misspelled 'Police' on His Mercedes-Benz

An Australian man is facing a host of charges after New South Wales police say they spotted his Mercedes-Benz S 350d outfitted to look like an official Chinese police vehicle. The first clue that something wasn’t right was the ‘Poilce’ sticker on the hood.

On Friday, July 18, Burwood Highway Patrol officers were patrolling the Australian suburb of Strathfield, which is located about 10 miles west of Sydney. During the patrol, authorities say they spotted a rather unusual vehicle: a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class, wearing ‘Chinese Poilce’ insignia on the doors and hood and boasting emergency lights and other features that could fool the public into believing the car was a legitimate police car.

Officers spoke to a 21-year-old male that was using the car, according to authorities, and the suspect allegedly handed police a fake document stating the car was used to transport consulate officials from China. After seeing the document, the police decided to search the vehicle, and authorities say they discovered a box containing 48 rounds of live ammunition in the trunk. When the suspect was asked about the ammunition, he reportedly told police that he had it in the trunk because he thought that would be the best place to store it.

Police say they subsequently searched the suspect’s home, where theye found and confiscated multiple guns. The suspect does hold an active firearms license, according to authorities, but that license is now under review after the incident.

The man is facing multiple charges including providing false or misleading information, driving a motor vehicle with unlawful police insignia, impersonating commonwealth public official in act/at place, and possessing an unauthorized prohibited firearm. The suspect was granted bail and is due back in court on Tuesday, July 22 to face the charges. Perhaps by then, he'll have learned how to spell.