BULAWAYO – A daring conwoman has been flashing a fake police ID and collecting bribes from pirate commuter omnibus crews in Bulawayo while pretending to be a cop, police said.

Vinate Ncube, 35, was busted on Monday thanks to vigilant touts who tipped off real officers after losing money to the bogus agent who had accused a kombi driver of operating without Zupco licensing.

City police spokesman Abednico Ncube said the woman, who lives in Cowdray Park, was known to operate between 6th Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street.

“The lady entered a white kombi and solicited a bribe after telling the driver that he was under arrest for not being Zupco compliant,” Ncube told ZimLive. “The driver gave her US$10. Some suspecting touts made a report to police officers who were supervising the area.”

The suspect is now assisting police with investigations.

“It appears she has always been going there impersonating a police officer and fleecing the pirate taxis and Kombis of their money claiming to be a police officer and producing a fake ID,” Ncube said.

He added that the woman’s arrest could point to a larger problem of crooks giving law enforcement a bad name by feigning being officers.