Man arrested for robbing tourists

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) A 32-year-old man, who used his proficiency in English to pass himself off as a tourist guide and cheat and rob foreigners after drugging them, has been arrested in Delhi, police said Monday.

Robert, a resident of Najafgarh, was arrested near his house Sunday by police following a tip-off.

During interrogation, Robert revealed that his fluency in spoken English helped him in his crimes.

"He used to get close to the tourists using his English and he would invite them for dinner. While taking them out in an auto rickshaw, he would give them biscuits laced with sedatives. After they became unconscious, he used to decamp with their belongings," said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime and Railways) Ashok Chand.

Robert said he hit on the method as his earnings were not enough to meet his needs.

"He (Robert) was fond of wearing branded clothes, shoes and using costly perfumes. So his father Joseph decided to rob foreign tourists of their belongings. In 2005, both were arrested for cheating an Irish national. After his release from jail in 2011, he started to rob foreign tourists after drugging them," Chand said.

Police have recovered electronic gadgets like electronic dictionaries, i-Pods, cameras, wallets and other articles from his possession. With his arrest, police claimed to have solved four cases of drugging and robbery of foreign tourists.