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When You Send Off For Something Dodgy And The Police Turn Up Instead

escargot

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
43,283
Location
HM The Tower of London
Yesterday my daughter told me this story:

In her lunch break she was browsing Wish or something and showed a colleague some 'credit card knives'. These are very sharp blades enclosed in flat plastic, credit card-sized, which fold out and clip into place to make a little knife, like a box-cutter.

The colleague said 'Don't order those! My brother sent off for some. The police came to his house and took him off for questioning. They took all his details and told him the knives wouldn't be arriving, and not to order anything like that again.'

It's a 'concealed weapon' apparently, even thought the blade is quite short. Very sharp and pointy though.

This happened in the Birmingham area. Daughter didn't mention the ethnicity of the colleague so I'm assuming she and her brother are white. I can check this.

My daughter wouldn't make this up but of course we don't know how reliable her colleague is.

So if this is true, at what point did the police know he'd ordered the blades? Did Customs tip them off? Were his emails or orders read?

Incidentally, after our very interesting discussion I mentioned that I'd bought some of the same 'credit card knives' from a market stall, and Techy produced his, to great amusement.
 
Customs declarations are usually stuck on the package - sometimes you must use a numeric code to state the contents. I'm sure they also x-ray and open random packages, sniff them etc etc.

If the goods are illegal in this country, it's possible the police would become involved. :confused:

Given the way it is described on this site, they might take an interest.

"Keep it in your wallet to impress your friends and gore your enemies!"
 
Yup, all that makes sense. Those farty little knives hardly seem worth all that trouble though.
 
Heh yup, that wasn't clever! The police seemed a little over-bumptious though.
 
Customs might seize the knives but it's very unlikely that the police would pay you a visit.

Unless there's a massively overfunded and bored unit somewhere in the West Midlands, which I highly doubt.
 
Historically, the West Midlands police don't have greatest reputation for fairness and honesty. The old West Midlands Serious Crime Squad were about as corrupt and inept as it's possible to be.
 
Never heard this UL before, but have often wondered similar about adverts for cannabis seeds and hydroponic equipment that appear in the back of really suspicious magazines for weirdo;s, like one I've forgotten the name of, I think it starts with a F.

They could be a honey trap, not sure where that sits with our laws on entrapment.

I'm sure having customs intercept pot seeds could lead to a little visit.
 
CarlosTheDJ said:
Customs might seize the knives but it's very unlikely that the police would pay you a visit.
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I dunno though, if someone was importing something dodgy enough and it was intercepted the Old Bill'd certainly be informed. I'm wondering if the bloke ordered 20 or summat!
 
Kind of related to this. I remember reading in the local paper many years ago about a bloke who advertised a sawn off shotgun in the Exchange and Mart. Someone rang up and arranged to come and see it. But when they arrived, it turned out it was the CID and they nicked him for possession of an illegal firearm. The muppet.
 
Those credit card knives are particularly concerning to prison authorities and I know for a fact they are well on their radar.

However, in regards the original story it supposes a level of operational capability that just doesn't exist.
 
The knives appealed to me because I just like gadgets. In my job, being seen carrying a knife means instant dismissal, as with alcohol or drugs. I do carry scissors, a bottle opener/corkscrew and a few basic tools, and a cute little 'Wallet Ninja' in my phone case.

The card-knife would fit in a phone case but I decided not to carry it, or not at work anyway. No need to ask for trouble!
 
OneWingedBird said:
Never heard this UL before, but have often wondered similar about adverts for cannabis seeds and hydroponic equipment that appear in the back of really suspicious magazines for weirdo;s, like one I've forgotten the name of, I think it starts with a F.
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As an plan for a honey-trap, that's very plausible - if your suspicions are justified, goodness knows what awaits those who open the sealed pages inside the sister magazine to the one you mention, the one that starts with a B!
 
Peripart said:
As an plan for a honey-trap, that's very plausible - if your suspicions are justified, goodness knows what awaits those who open the sealed pages inside the sister magazine to the one you mention, the one that starts with a B!
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Yes, that magazine has far more dodgy adverts than the 'F' magazine.
 
Playboy: read only for the book reviews? :p
 
Coastaljames said:
Those credit card knives are particularly concerning to prison authorities and I know for a fact they are well on their radar.

However, in regards the original story it supposes a level of operational capability that just doesn't exist.
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They were often touted a survival knife that could fit in your wallet. One side had a blade the other a serrated edge. This is going way back and I imagine they would have caught on in prisons.
 
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Coastaljames said:
Used to have some great writing. And let's not forget the mighty and mystic RAW was the editor of it for 6 years.
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I've got the first 120 or so issues of B at home. In fact, if you have a look at the letters page in the 100th issue, you'll see my wedding photo....
 
Coastaljames said:
Used to have some great writing. And let's not forget the mighty and mystic RAW was the editor of it for 6 years.
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Was he? I didn't know that.
I used to work with a guy whose name I forget (a man of the Muslim persuasion), who claimed to have done photography for the front covers. Lucky guy.
 
Mythopoeika said:
It closed down last year, apparently. I didn't notice - haven't looked at it for years (skint).
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Yeah I liked it when it first came out with Britpop etc - it was edgy.

Certainly better than Loaded with it's obsession with Howard Marks - never understood the fascination with him.

So RAW edited it????
 
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