WTF???

Koos Custodiet

Koos Custodiet

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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080708060430195C323608

Cops vs cops in near-bloodbath
Graeme Hosken
July 08 2008 at 07:31AM

Police nearly killed their own when cops closed in on a group of "armed robbers", only to discover that the suspects were part of an elite undercover crime-fighting unit.

On Sunday night, a tow-truck driver raised the alarm when he spotted 16 heavily armed men, guns drawn, descending on the Super Spar and Steers at a Wonderboom South shopping complex in Voortrekkers Road.

The men, wearing balaclavas and other masks, split into groups.

Some walked into the shops while others stood guard outside at unmarked vehicles.

'I knew something was wrong'

Tow-truck driver Louis Strydom said he was in the parking lot when he saw the vehicles arrive.

"When men - wearing balaclavas and bulletproof vests and carrying guns - got out and went into the shop, I knew something was wrong, especially when people came running out."

Strydom called the Tshwane Metro Police, who alerted the Pretoria Flying Squad and other police stations to the "attack".

Hearing of the alert over their police radios, the "attackers" - who are members of the SAPS' Crime Intelligence Covert Collection Directorate (CICCD) counter-assault force - got into their cars and drove off.

The CICCD is a team of police intelligence operatives established specifically to combat armed robbery and ATM bombings.

'We're going all out to catch these thugs'

An off-duty police officer, hearing the alert, spotted the vehicles and gave chase.

He followed them to Jacaranda Lodge, where the Flying Squad forced the gang to "surrender".

A scuffle ensued in which several CICCD members were subdued before the misunderstanding was cleared up.

A Flying Squad member said the misunderstanding could have been fatal.

"These guys didn't identify themselves until we came to blows.

"If they had continued, people could have been killed.

"With crime as it is, we can't afford to take chances.

"They're lucky that a customer didn't have a gun and shoot them," he said.

"It could have turned out to be the police's worst misunderstanding ever."

Despite reassurances from senior officers, he was still suspicious, he said.

"They perfectly fit the profile of ATM bombers and cash-in-transit robbers - the very people we are trying to catch," he said, adding that they were armed with semi-automatic machine guns.

Of further concern was that the registration plates on the vehicles the men were driving were false.

Furthermore, he said, the vehicles did not appear to be registered to the police, the men were wearing balaclavas and bulletproof vests, and were dressed in civilian clothing with no form of identification.

Their behaviour, too, had been suspicious.

"They were very nervous - not the way you would expect a policeman to act when confronted by colleagues," he said.

Spar manager Takkies Haralambides said the men arrived at his shop in balaclavas and bulletproof vests.

"They didn't say anything. They just walked in, paid for several water bottles and walked out," he said.

Commissioner Rodney Toka, the CICCD commander, confirmed the men were all undercover operatives from the unit's counter-assault force.

"The men were working on an operation that involved the execution of arrest warrants for highly dangerous criminals.

"We're going all out to catch these thugs and won't allow them to terrorise our country," he said.

"At all times the members were and will be identifiable in one way or another."

But, he said, some members could not be identified as their cover had to be kept secret.

"We expect communities to bear with us as we don't mean them any harm," he said.

Asked why other police units were not informed or involved in the operation, Toka said: "Our people are specifically trained for such high-risk operations, which is why they are tackling them and not other police units."

Michael Broughton, the head of the crime prevention programme of the Consumer Goods Council of SA, said it was understandable that members of the public might get a fright at seeing armed men in masks, but the unit was an added weapon in the fight against crime.

"The unit is a positive step in the fight against crime and shows that crime is being taken seriously," he said.

He said violent armed robberies were of serious concern.

This article was originally published on page 3 of Pretoria News on July 08, 2008
Click to expand...

I mean... what.... the.... FSCK?
 
HAHA, so the elite undercover crime-fighting unit got pwned by the local cops.
 
This is not the whole story.

Something fishy is going on here. Police are not allowed to do training in the fasinity of civilians. This was not a training excersize. It was a foiled robbery involving the Police I would like to think
 
With you, Pitbull, except I would like *not* to think so... but we are forced to accept these dudes are way crooked.
 
Why are undercover cops doing AT a robbery, I thought they were supposed to STOP the robberies?
 
I like the fact that they walked into the store armed with assault rifles and wearing balaclavas and then just bought a couple bottles of Valpre. lol.
 
What would have happened if Nick the Greek and Cuzzin Spiros had whipped out their sawn-off pump-actions and let the "undercover" lot have it ?
 
Undercover... sounds fishy...
When you go undercover, do you wear vests and balaclavas?
Hardly...
 
I agree that there is someting very suspicious here.

Maybe they were going after corrupted SAPS officers and could not take the chance of news of their operation leaking out.
 
Hoof-Hearted said:
What would have happened if Nick the Greek and Cuzzin Spiros had whipped out their sawn-off pump-actions and let the "undercover" lot have it ?
Click to expand...

What would anyone else do if they had a weapon on the premesis nearby when some balaclava clad gun wielding guys enter?
What were they thinking - this isn't the UK where you can threaten criminals with a night stick and run after them when they make a dash.
 
Asked why other police units were not informed or involved in the operation, Toka said: "Our people are specifically trained for such high-risk operations, which is why they are tackling them and not other police units."
Click to expand...

Uhmmm ja, and thats why they were owned by the normal cops? Because they are so highly trained. And why the hell not identify yourself?

OT
Lastly, isn't the whole reason the Scorpions are being incorporated into the SAPS so that there can be better communication, right? Now if the SAPS cannot communicate amongst themselves then how the hell will incorporating the scorpions into the SAPS help this?:confused:
/OT
 
Damn thats dodgy. I don't see any legit reason why police would enter a shop with balaklawas & auto guns.

"The men were working on an operation that involved the execution of arrest warrants for highly dangerous criminals.
Click to expand...
And they just wanted to check whether the highly dangerous criminals are lurking in the frozen food section?:confused:

Whatever...
 
I don't get it. Even if this was *legit*, what the hell was the point of it?

And even if it was, you just don't do **** like that! :eek:

Talk about a 'dog-and-pony-show' police force...
 
Pitbull said:
Something fishy is going on here. Police are not allowed to do training in the fasinity of civilians. This was not a training excersize. It was a foiled robbery involving the Police I would like to think
Click to expand...

I think so too. It doesn't make sense otherwise.
 
Turtle said:
I think so too. It doesn't make sense otherwise.
Click to expand...

Exactly! There is no other logical explanation. The guy who is trying to cover for them must pesumeably be in on it too.:sick:
 
Hmm...still reckon you could just buy/steal three black SUV's, paint a 5-letter acronym on them and start your own "police force". Would likely take months/years before anyone even caught on that the "unit" did not actually exist.
 
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