Cops and Robbers in Latvia

I probably shouldn't post this but I just have to because of the funny factor and the repetition of the first event described which defies all logic, at least from a Western perspective. Hope my lawyer doesn't read this!

I have a friend who has some local "small g" gangsters living in his building. They regularly leave company vehicles (taxi) parked in the security of the private parking of his supposedly elite building ("Private Parking" only because there is a sign stating such, no barrier or security guard to enforce it though) which then sit idle for a week or so and finally disappear. One day the vehicle is there, several days later it is gone. After a liberal application of alcohol we rightly or wrongly deduced this as a variation on a trick used in Winnipeg by an infamous deaths head biker gang on my old street in the west end to move stuff around. There they would show up with a tow truck and haul the vehicle off, presumably full of contraband. The point being that it was just an uninsured/unregistered vehicle belonging to no one in particular and therefore, "what do you mean there is 4 kilo of Bolivian marching powder in that boot officer"!? In this example here in Riga we assume out of shear laziness someone is just supposed to show up with the keys at an auspicious hour after something has been thrown in the boot and drive the thing away since I have overheard that it's easy to buy off the highway police in advance for a clear path. Or so I'm told.

But half the time it doesn't work out that way because the battery for the vehicle is frequently dead! HAH!! So it sits for an extra day or two until some local hoodie crazed on bath salts kicks in a door panel or a side window or some such which is inevitable in these parts. Then there is a torrent of high end vehicles that show up with booster cables but they can never get the sequence right, apparently. The owners manuals come out and dark clothed folks stalk about wincing in the harsh glare of the daytime Baltic gloom & smoking with cell phones glued to the ear, spitting and taking swigs from vodka bottles while even more vehicles show up with different cables and eventually the "transfer" vehicle is started and they all peel out in a wagon train of new Merc's and SUV's drawing no attention from anyone at all.

It happens every two weeks with some regularity. For a year now. Never a cop anywhere.

Hint: Positive to positive, negative to negative or to the frame of the dead vehicle if you're feeling technical.

Hilarious!

Such humorous interludes serve as a reminder as to who the real gangs are here in Latvia and that might be the police maybe? Remember my beef with the Tukums Regional Police described in previous posts? Think I'm exaggerating when I say that there are certain rotten apples who shouldn't be cops? 

Read this: Latvian Police Casino Robbery Attempt


January 28, 2011

Tuesday of this week saw an unusual casino robbery in Latvia’s city of Jekabpils.  According to reports, Five armed robbers, four of which were active police officers in uniform, stormed the “Fenikss” casino in the early hours of Tuesday morning in what ended up being a botched heist attempt.  In the ensuing car chase and shoot-out a pursuing police officer was killed and numerous people were injured.

After arrests were made it was established that two of the robbers were members of the Tukums Regional Police force and another two were part of the “Alfa” elite police response squad.  The Tukums police officers had previously been discharged for accepting bribes but had been reinstated after pressure from the police union.

Latvia’s Interior Minister Murniece called for immediate police department checks across the board stating that many people could lose their jobs.  The Minister also expressed his disgust at what he labelled “Serious problems with discipline” within the Alfa elite police force and suspended the Alfa Chief of Police Andris Zaušs, as well as the chief of police in Riga, Ints Kuzis from service.  Murniece has since come under pressure from the unions and the Council of the Home Office has been called in to deal with the situation.

Latvian Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, has given assurance that the interior minister’s job is not on the line over the incident and has pledged his support and agreement in her calls for police reform.  He reportedly stated that there had been numerous instances where the police union had forced unfit officers to be reinstated regardless of the circumstances and that this practice should come to an end.

Think that's bad? Many police when they leave the force end up in private security which is a very lucrative business here in Latvia since most small towns and municipalities had their policing sub-contracted out to these private security firms  by the government when the economy went into the toilet and the ruling 1% were forced to bow and scrape to Brussels and the IMF in order to meet the austerity measures which are a condition to continuing the EU loans which keep their private business's operating. There being no line at all between politics and business in this country which is due to join the European Union in 2014.

I have personal experience with one of these security firms, sounds something like Koblenz but I could be wrong as I'm a stupid foreigner and all, who once cost me LVL 200 and refused to pony up the money after a police investigation which surprise surprise, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. Then there is a certain scam, again in Tukums but no doubt replicated elsewhere whereby in order to get a work permit, for electrical work for instance, you need to use one company and one company only which just happens to be owned by the local manager of the state electrical supplier. Ah, good times in Latvia. So many stories to tell. So much intrigue!

It's another week before my lawyer has the meeting with Tukums Regional Police regarding the false assault charges against me. I wonder how it will go?