Undercover police? red painting & decorating van

[Geordiecarl 10]

About 3 years ago during my time as a student in sheffield i lived in a large house off shoreham st where me and my flatmates had a bizzare encounter with a red van. It started when about mid day when some flatmates were standing smoking outside our front door, the van seemed totally innocent and nothing was wrong, we particularly noticed a vent on the roof (black circular one) with the outlet facing fown the street.

 

Later that night (about 2am) we came back from clubbing and noticed the fan wass still parked directly at the end of our path, but with the vent facing directly at our door. We decided to inspect the van a little by looking through the windows, trying the doors etc (nothing out of the ordinary) and 2 minutes later we had 2 policemen walking round the corner telling us to leave off the van. That is normal i suppose, someone could have called the police and they could have just been in the area having nothing better to do at 2am near the leadmill (yeah right) but what followed was bizare.

 

I rang the number on the side of the van to see if anyone would pick up, it just rang out which you would expect local businesses to at least have an answerphone. I then get the yellow pages to look up the company (cant remember the name) and it wasn't in, then what do you know just as i am dialling 999 to report it, someone gets in and drives away.

 

Bizzare eh!

[Kristian 11]

Probably MI5 rather than the police; were you up to anything dodgy?

 

K x

[HotPhil 10]

So you rang a decorator at 2am and they didn't answer? Surely that's not too unusual? Could the vent have been one of those ones that spins round in the wind and so could perfectly reasonably changed direction itself?

Think it may have been a couple of coincidences!

[Geordiecarl 10]

but surely they would have been in the yellow pages, and had an answerphone!

[steev 10]

There's a couple of (legitimate) parcel delivery companies that lend the police vans when they need them for being subtle...

 

Seem them a couple of times being used, good surprised looks of the busted persons' faces...

[cgksheff 44]

3 years ago???

 

So they've just released you?

[Vanbast 10]

Reminds me of a similar thing that happened a few years ago. We used to work opposite a car park in the city centre and there was always something interesting going off given the high car crime at the time.

 

We saw a similar van which had been parked all day and surly men kept getting in and out. Once they kept the side door open a bit too long and inside it looked like someone's front room with armchairs and the like.

 

Anyway, we decided to call the police and within two minutes they all jumped back in and sped off in a cloud of dust.

 

I'm afraid any self respecting car thief would have seen them a mile off.

[depoix 11]

my mate has just bought a white diesel box van,its last owners are registered on the log book as west yorkshire police,inside it has a porta loo and central heating pipes, padded seats and a neat little spy hole in the back,also a sliding hatch that allows you to view through the front window and there was also a small stove, you never know .........

[PopT 10]

I had a friend who was in the Special Branch and we innocently interrupted him whilst he was on surveillance in the city.

 

Later he explained without any details that he couldn't talk to us as he was on a job connected with terrorism in the city centre.

 

When I asked him about terrorism he replied that there had been 117 terrorist incidents in the city recorded in the previous 12 months.

 

At that time the IRA were very active,so I guess they were watching the movement of suspects and material which could be involved in bombings in other places.

 

So a van could be used by anyone of the security services other than the police, for any number of uses.

 

Happy Days

[fnkysknky 10]

Could be either - it's not uncommon for a business to not be in the Yellow Pages or for them not to have an answer machine - I haven't got one for my business and I won't be in the Yellow Pages until it is reprinted.

 

It's also common for the police and security services to use a van as you described although the security services tend to be rather good at surveillance and it's unlikely you would notice them.

[Strix 11]

Originally posted by depoix

my mate has just bought a white diesel box van,its last owners are registered on the log book as west yorkshire police,inside it has a porta loo and central heating pipes, padded seats and a neat little spy hole in the back,also a sliding hatch that allows you to view through the front window and there was also a small stove, you never know .........

 

But something like that would have a million uses to somebody with less-than-honourable intent

 

Paedophilemobile anybody?

Mobile Rape Service?

Bank Rekkie on Wheels?

 

[Kristian 11]

Originally posted by Strix

But something like that would have a million uses to somebody with less-than-honourable intent

 

Paedophilemobile anybody?

Mobile Rape Service?

Bank Rekkie on Wheels?

 

Oh Strix!

 

Why can't we just go on thinking the good of everyone?

 

(Note to self: start getting a bit worldly!)

 

K x.