The suspect was not a professional driver and could be charged with extortion. The customer refused to pay.
It was on the last leg of the journey that it all happened on Friday night, January 5, at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado airport. A man was in the arrivals area and ended up being approached by a supposed driver who “offered him a transportation service” to the hotel where he would be staying in the capital.
The offer, which was made “in an improper manner”, says the PSP’s Lisbon Metropolitan Command, was eventually accepted by the client, after the scammer claimed that he was driving “a private car from the airport with a cost meter”.
The journey was short: the hotel was in Parque das Nações. And so it was with astonishment that the customer came across a bill for €304, the amount requested by the 23-year-old man who was eventually identified by the police. The customer claimed that he didn’t have to pay that amount and even refused to do so.
Nevertheless, he agreed to pay €100 before getting out of the car. The driver also threatened the customer to “pay another €50”, otherwise he would call the authorities. Once the complaint had been made, the Public Security Police arrested the suspect, who was made an accused and subjected to an identity and residence order.