Keystone cops in full retreat, operation āface savingā has been initiatedā¦ I guess the āinvestigation continuesā will turn quietly to āinvestigation droppedā in a few weeks time.
Having been bombarded with news of this āserious eventā for nigh on 48 hours, on the way back from Les Voiles this evening (very pleasant day, highly recommended, even if youāre not a sailor) it turns out to be damp squib.
We cracked up in the car Guns, drama, evacuations , Iranian involvement, COBR meeting and all for what and all based on what? Who will be fired?
And of course the clown in the Whitehouse couldnāt resist getting his oar in.. Was this overreaction based on US āintelligenceā input?
This isnāt a UK war, this isnāt a Western European war. We need to tell Iran that writ large. This is an Israeli war which a very, very stupid and dangerous US president has embroiled the US in, and which the very, very sneaky genocidal Israelis have snuck out from under. Leaving them free to slaughter in Gaza, The West Bank and Lebanon.
Not unlike here, as I mentioned in another post. Iām just so glad the source of our outrageous fuel inflation, Mr. Maga, is on the job sorting out those (apart from his billionaire pals) taking advantage of it.
All very odd isnāt it? The fuel theft doesnāt stand up for me given the h/as of the arrestees. We must assume now that the vans had no explosives in them. I think I did read the word āviableā somewhere. Grounds for arrest must have been a bit weak but clearly ordinary folk donāt drive around near RAF/US airbases in the middle of the night wearing balaclavas. Dummy run?
Iām not usually one to speculate but what the hell.
Iāve been on Fairford a few times for work and, if theyāre not actually running operations, itās a very low key place, you could easily be nearby and not realise what it is.
Not really my area of expertise but Iād imagine itās quite easy to think that a van full of jerry cans is something a bit more sinister than simple fuel theft, especially if the vanās occupants aināt from around these parts.
Itās beginning to look a lot like hysteria and because of the air base it had to be taken seriously. You can imagine flumps bellicose rhetoric if something had happened and the police hadnāt reacted to the infoā from the neighbour that reported them.
Could it have been a covert SAS type exercise testing the base and locals and then. the emergency services etc? They have to get their practice in somewhere
As I remember it the first few hours of the investigation were undertaken by the Gloucester Police, so I presume they did find something which led to the Counter Terrorist mob being involved. Maybe an abundance of caution? But the alternative is worse.
Heating oil and diesel fuel for vehicles are known targets on farms. Thieves sometimes use high speed pumps and IBCs. 1,000 litres can be stolen in minutes.
Diesel and fertiliser produces an explosive mixture from components readily available on farms.
The disciple of the Great Leader, Rubio repeated the same today. Pity they didnāt bother telling the UK authorities earlier.
I lived down the road from Fairford for a bit in the very early 90s (good butcher, nice bookshop, excellent steam fair) and there were always loads of aficionados parked up around the airbase listening to radio comms, looking for memorabilia and waiting to take pictures of B52s (Gulf war). They should be a bit more clued up about weirdos and their reasons for hanging around.
I agree with the Panel, rural theft is the most likely explanation: unlikely to be diesel, maybe tools and machinery.
The police would have had access to phones, cell site data and intelligence, and 14 days to hold the suspects. It seems that, whatever Chump says, they were not terrorists.
However, what they were up to should have been clear from the contents of the vans. You canāt steal reasonable quantities of diesel without using big drums and tubes. The fact that they were released with no charges implies (a) the suspects hadnāt managed to steal anything and (b) there were no big drums or piping in the vans, which would at least have been evidence to support a charge of going equipped.
The fact they were released under investigation - ie without bail conditions - rather suggests the police donāt have any other lines of enquiry that they are prepared to divulge
Apparently they were released with,āstrict bail conditions ā, still under investigation.
Rural crime is huge, red diesel is now restricted to certain farm vehicles only, like tractors. Many farms will keep it in huge drums, so easier to nick.
Another favourite to nick are quad bikes, easy to steal and flog, there was a spate of thefts up here, a couple of years ago. Most of the farmers replaced them with the 4 wheel buggy things, theyāre not on thieves top 10,
Yes, larger farms (lots of them) have their own fuel storage tanks and pumps etc. They buy in bulk and fill up as needed on site.
Thieves do not care about damaging above ground tanks.
Make a hole in the tank, let the diesel run into a tub placed underneath it, and use a pump and hose to pick up the liquid and put it into larger tanks already in the vans.
A method used by diesel fairies in laybys all over the place.
If you find a big tank? 3 vans and one break-in makes for good economy of risk. More look outs, more taken per break-in.
Diesel used on farms may be coloured and have other chemical markers, but many seem willing to take the risk of getting caught with it in vehicles.
Going a bit over weight they could have over Ā£3k per van. That will be enough (very roughly) for about half a dozen tippers to run a week.
Edit, or use for heating oil. More than good enough for that.
A Tiger Team shouldnāt get spotted staging for the infiltration. Plus, if these chaps had been from Hereford, they would never have been arrested and bailed as theyād have a way to identify themselves to Plod.
Guns, drama, evacuations , Iranian involvement, COBR meeting and all for what and all based on what? Who will be fired?
