I was heading North today 4-27-08 around 11:30 am on Ruta 14, Entre Rios when I was stopped exactly at Kilometer 341 where there is a permanent police checkpoint.

Thanks to GatoGato´s post on the subject I was ready for crooked cops in this region and had been planning my strategy and preparing Spanish phrases for the problem.

There were at least 3 officers present and two working the North bound lane.

I introduced myself, stated my name and asked politely for the officer´s name. He immediately looked irritated and identified himself only as ¨Jose¨.

He proceeded to tell me my luggage was too wide and that I needed to pay a fine.

I responded that I thought the fine for a fire extinguisher was more popular here.

He looked at me very strangely and said he knew more about the law than I did.

I responded that I always respected the law and the police.

He repeated his demand for money pointing at my bag. I told him I had done nothing wrong.

He asked for his fine again and I told him that many people had told me there were ¨problems¨ at Kilometer 341. He looked a little surprised and sarcastically called out to his friend that people were talking about the police at Kilometer 341. His friend did not laugh and looked uncomfortable.

Yes, I repeated, in fact at least 5 people in Buenos Aires had told me there were ¨problems with the police¨ here at Kilometer 341. I said I´d never had any trouble with the dozens of other police I´d met in Argentina.

At this point he looked disgusted and told me to leave.

WOOT!!!!!

There is no dirtier feeling than being screwed by a dirty cop and no better feeling than beating one at his own game in a second language.

I went 30 KM down the road and met some other police who were friendly and waived me through. I stopped and picked an older one to talk with. I told him about the demands for money. He looked at my bags and said nothing was wrong with them.

Then I told him GatoGato´s story about the pistol in the bathroom and said somebody should do something about the corruption at Kilometer 341.

WooHoo! What a great story, the HUBB strikes again! I was following the original story and now your follow-up really is the icing.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

So the thread should really be, "No way, Jose."

Well done!!! You've done us all proud.

Corruption is a word that translates almost without change in many languages (French, Spanish, German) and the police do NOT like to be called that, face to face.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Wow!! LONG LIVE THE HUBB !!!

I just love it when they are caught in their own twisted schemes! I speak the language like a native, yet have at times not been able to get out of something without a little grease.

You know, the best part is that his other cop ;friends' are distancing themselves from him now because they are waiting for the hammer to fall!

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http://www.aroundtheblockmotoadventures.com/
'We build the bike (in Peru) for your Epic Ride of South America.'

Wow, this is great Laser Jock. That was very smart to prepare those phrases ahead of time. I am sure that they are crapping their pants at that checkpoint now.

I went to the federal police in Posadas to report the incident but they had just closed when I got there. I will report it when I go back to Buenos Aires.

Long live the Hubb, and Comraderie!

Hey Toby, those other police also had their hands in the cookie jar too. I think it is probably just one guy who is doing all the talking and gun pointing but I have no doubt that the other police at that checkpoint are very crooked too.

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http://www.journeyrider.net Latin America blog (07-8)

Nice...Sweet...Vakano...

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How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

Threads like this give me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside! good job Lazer! Grant should start a "Corrupt police thread"!

thread "stuck"

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

This was the original thread whit all about Police Troubles in Argentina:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...rgentina-13295

All the info, relevant parts of the Transit Law, translation and other riders experience are there …..

Saludos....

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Javier...
Dakar Motos “ ”

This is the second time I´ve been on my toes for crooked cops thanks to The Hubb. The last time was just North of Lima, Peru where I also prevailed against a rather young officer who was experimenting with corruption.

GatoGato is correct. All of the police at KM 341 knew what was going on. You could see the guilt in their chubby little faces and their beady little eyes.

I think it is time the International Motorcycling Community declared Jihad on corruption at KM 341. We need somebody to go in with a helmet camera and microphone.

Cough.... Johan.... Cough

Nice helmet camera setup. Johan of Borg. (Swedishrider.com) photo - rtwrider photos at pbase.com

How about just a voice recorder and give it to the local news station? or set up a spycam on the bike and make sure you get them to "stand on their marks" LOL! Camera-phones are great for inconspicuous photo taking! Also, Javakap was talking about some org. in Argentina against police corruption? They should also be made aware of this thread. Here in Mexico they have the anti-corruption hotline, se llama honestel. I hope i don't have to use it, but i got it in my speed-dial for the next time they try to extort money out of me. Just gotta make sure they are real cops your dealing with, not fake clowns in disquise. These are the ones that really scare me!

I will be crossing the place in another 7-8 days. I am in Sao Paulo now. I will ride south. Is there any alternative rout to avoid the mess?

Nelson

Unfortunately Johan isn´t going that way Laser Jock, he´s going Mendoza direction.
I am but, and have a helmet camera, although it´s a Oregon ATC2000 and fairly obvious when mounted on my peak. I´ll see if i can mount it somewhere else, like on my luggage behind me.
I´ll probably leave Buenos Aires tomorrow so see will keep you posted. I don´t have insurance but so this may be like riding into a fire, without an extinguisher... :-)

Paul Van Hoof´s follow up of a corrupt regional police chief in Colombia actually resulted in the 50ish year old chief losing his job and being banned from working in a government postion for 10 years. I´ll let Paul tell that story though when he writes his book. (Guzzigalore, but not on HUBB.yet!)

Nice work Lazer Jock. Let's keep the pressure on with everyone that passes there. The more honest police find out about this guy, the sooner we can get rid of him.

I was stopped more in 2 days on Ruta 14 than during my entire month in Argentina. There are many *legitimate* checkpoints and they did ask to see my insurance.

I would advise you get insurance before heading north.