Taser gang targets 'high value' Heathrow computer consignment

A gang of robbers targeted a delivery van carrying "high value computer equipment" near Heathrow Airport on Monday night by setting up a fake police checkpoint. The four men, dressed in high visibility jackets, attacked the van driver and his companion with CS gas and threatened them with a taser at 11.18pm, having laid their …

[Jon 51]

Seriously?

What? No mini-coopers?

Fail for amateur hour.

[Anonymous Coward]

Are they sure it wasn't legal?

You can't even keep track of the departments that have search and seizure powers these days, are they sure they were robbers? There was 30+ new departments added, countless individuals, no way to tell who is entitled to seize and not seize, what's legal and what's not.

A classic piece of Jacqui Smith crap... only it's not JS, it's all new Alan Johnson crap. New Home Secretary, same ill conceived crap that nobody thought through.

[Blake St. Claire]

Fake Police Checkpoint?

Versus a real police checkpoint? Really? Do you have those?

I've never seen one in the times I've been there. Admittedly that isn't especially meaningful -- I'm over there pretty infrequently, and usually limited to the greater London area.

So would anyone really be fooled by a police checkpoint? Should they be?

And no, I'm not talking about Saturday night drunk driving traps or police presence after the fact at something like a terrorist bombing.

Just curious. I'll keep my eyes out for one next time I'm over.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Blake St. Claire

I'd probably "be fooled" enough to stop at first, but I think the part that would give it away is the CS Gas and Tasers...

[Anonymous Coward]

Who's to say

When they get the olympics started, they're going to have checkpoints all over the place and a perfect cover for more crims.

[AlistairJ]

Let 'im 'av' it!

Oh dear, please phone crimestoppers. No cameras working on that day then? No insider informant? Mysteriously the gang got away with it sarge?

And as for "threatened with a tazer" whats the point in that? The things supposed to be non-lethal right? So either you use it or you don't bother. Personally I would hit 'im wivvit, just to see how he reacts. If it was me on the receiving end, I would rather have my curiosity sated than be forever in the dark about how painful it is

[tony trolle]

Has the BOFH got some new kit ?

lol

[Anonymous Coward]

ID card readers

aren't going to make it to the Border Agency just yet then.....

[Anonymous Coward]

@AlistairJ

I'm sure you could receive a personal demonstration if you went about it the right way. Where I live the police love their tasers and use them, often repeatedly, at every opportunity.

[John Savard]

A Serious Problem

Really, they ought to have an automatic death penalty for anyone who impersonates a police officer in order to commit a robbery.

And if that still doesn't stop it from happening, we need to make police uniforms difficult to counterfeit.

[Anonymous Coward]

"make police uniforms difficult to counterfeit."

You mean something like a unique serial number on each one?

For extra authenticity have the numbers generated by a secret algorithm known only to the real Plod, so if in doubt you can phone Plod and say "forgery check on xyz123abc-def please". (Yes I realise there are obvious problems with this but bear with me).

Oh hang on. They already are legally required to wear unique ID numbers, but (in the London area at least) they seem to be mostly optional and no copper ever got prosecuted for not wearing them. How odd.

[Anonymous Coward]

what was in the box????

A van full of chips would make sense, a van full of UPS's marginally less so.

C'mon el reg, keep us in the loop so we can keep an eye out for these things.

(In the interest of reporting the stolen goods of course, not picking up some quality legit hardware at a song you understand)

[Hud Dunlap]

@John Savard

LOL! You ought to see what they use over here. T-shirts with the word "Police" silkscreened on. It doesn't even say what town. You will even see Police cars with the word "Police" on the side. No municipality, no vehicle number.

[Anonymous Coward]

ID Cards will save you!

All crime solved!

Instantly.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone see

the episode of the Real Hustle where they showed us all exactly how to pull off this sort of heist?

[Alex 32]

hmmm... suspicious..

Curious that they are not releasing the info on the contents..

Another Black Ops Project, including Balck Ops Equipment, from the Black Ops Agencies of the UK... Probably utilising Dark Fibre (had to get that in..! Sounds good 'dunnit'?)

I'll be very intrigued to know what the kit was.. They usually divulge the inventory. hang on.. was it computer consignments... or something more sinister..?

Black Ops Helicopter obviously...

[Blue eyed boy]

@AC "ID Cards will save you" and Alex 32

'Sobvious innit. The van was full of ID cards.

[El Richard Thomas]

Operation Grafton

I thought that was a female to male sex change

[iMess]

I wonder..

if the computer parts were encrypted..