Stopped by French Customs

Clickem

Clickem

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We got pulled off the dual carriageway, near Chartres yesterday, by a customs vehicle, which displayed a message in the rear window for us to follow, about a mile, off the dual carriageway and into a layby

They had a look in the garage and poked around inside the van. Asked if we had any covers for the carpets before he went in. When we said no, he kindly removed his boots before entering

The search was not thorough, and if we had wanted to hide/carry anything their search would not have found it. They asked where we had come from, where we were going, how much money we had and if we smoked. I guess they go more on impressions than a thorough search. They said they were looking for anything, drugs, currency, and weapons.

As we pulled out of the laybye another car pulled in with a following motorhome, so guess they were having a purge
 
Used to be done years ago. Drug smugglers started to use motorhome / campers and we got pulled in a similar manner while on route back from Spain.
 
We were searched twice at Roscoff, once as we waited at the ferry check-in then again by another lot as we waited in the queue. They didn't look in the back box or under the bed where there is room for at least two.

There's a new TV programme, today I think, where they are people smuggling as a game. From a review I saw a MH was used very effectively. :)
 
DBK said:
We were searched twice at Roscoff, once as we waited at the ferry check-in then again by another lot as we waited in the queue.
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Good to know they are doing some checks

They didn't look in the back box or under the bed where there is room for at least two.
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I doubt that any stowaway would hide there unless there were LED lights to read by. :giggle:

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In 2005 (I think) Di and I were returning home from Ikea in Toulouse in our Citroen C15 van. Just after leaving a peage on the A20 we were ushered into a layby by customs officials. One of them dipped the tank searching for red diesel, the others opened the rear doors to examine the contents. The volume of shopping deterred them from looking closely. A rudimentary document check was followed by cheery handshakes, salutes and wishes for a safe journey.

The only thing that annoyed me was that the checks were restricted to vans, clearly no one uses red diesel in a car.

On the one occasion that we took our MH to U.K. no one at the border checks even spoke to us though one of them smiled.

Eternal vigilance, however limited, is always necessary.

I have set my machine to record the Channrel 4 programmes on People smuggling for Dummies, with the current GBP exchange rate we need to find a way to boost our income.
 
I got stopped near Honfleur some years back by several police armed to the teeth, one of whom spoke to me in what I thought might be Arabic. On finding we wern't whoever they were looking for they let us go after a cursory search.
 
It very often happens on the French side of Andora. Also a favourite for French flying customs was the old N10 south of Bordeaux for any motorhomes travelling north out of Spain. Motorhomes are easy pickings for customs as they generally carry large quantities of alcohol and before the purge on tobacco they used to have large quantities of that, even if they did not smoke it covered the cost of diesel when sold on. That is why they always ask if you smoke, if you say no and they find tobacco, they have you bang to rights.
 
Years ago we were pulled in the same manner on the N10 after we crossed the border from Spain. When we arrived in the service station after following him there were about 30 police with guns and loads of vehicles being checked.
He didn’t even come into the Motorhome just asked for passports and he asked if we had been to Morocco which we hadn’t so he waved us on our way.

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Clickem said:
They asked where we had come from, where we were going, how much money we had and if we smoked. I guess they go more on impressions than a thorough search. They said they were looking for anything, drugs, currency, and weapons.
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It must be me. If asked to stop I do .I've never 'followed' anyone , even in the Uk, off the road. I stop where I am.
& my answers to the above would be
Why?
Why?
wtf has it to do with you & if I was carrying in excess of the 10k euros limit I'd have decared it before leaving spain.
Why? Do want to ponce a fag ?
 
I presume the vehicles were clearly marked as customs/officials before you followed them. Like gus-lopez I would be very wary to follow anyone off the motorway.

Would make it very easy for the bandits trying to get vehicles to stop.
Just put a funny hat on and a sign in the window saying "you must follow me"
 
We where pulled over on the Madrid ring rd by an unidentified car with a card waving "plain clothes police man" He demanded to see passports and vehicle documents, l didn't like the look of him and asked him to show his police pass, which he waved about again so I refused. He then said we must follow him to the police station for questioning and we would be hour's. O K I said let's do it, he then got back in his car and disappeared faster than Hamilton.
 
Got pulled today on the Italian/ French border heading towards Nice ,very polite police man asked me to open the hab door dropped his head inside then said thank you and off I go,I could have anything in there but I guess they meet their targets.

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gus-lopez said:
It must be me. If asked to stop I do .I've never 'followed' anyone , even in the Uk, off the road. I stop where I am.
& my answers to the above would be
Why?
Why?
wtf has it to do with you & if I was carrying in excess of the 10k euros limit I'd have decared it before leaving spain.
Why? Do want to ponce a fag ?
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I agree, In fact I believe there was a "Scam" some years back of a similar nature.?

Portland said:
We where pulled over on the Madrid ring rd by an unidentified car with a card waving "plain clothes police man" He demanded to see passports and vehicle documents, l didn't like the look of him and asked him to show his police pass, which he waved about again so I refused. He then said we must follow him to the police station for questioning and we would be hour's. O K I said let's do it, he then got back in his car and disappeared faster than Hamilton.
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There was a scam like that in the UK a few years ago, The guy was targeting solo Women, then attempting to molest them. If I am correct they eventually caught him and he got a few years "at her Majesties pleasure"
 
I think I might follow them for a kilometre or two while getting other half to dial 112 and check their registration.

I would not turn off the main road. I would stop and see if they walked back to my position. By which time the genuine police would have hopefully confirmed their identity or not.
 
Portland said:
We where pulled over on the Madrid ring rd by an unidentified car with a card waving "plain clothes police man" He demanded to see passports and vehicle documents, l didn't like the look of him and asked him to show his police pass, which he waved about again so I refused. He then said we must follow him to the police station for questioning and we would be hour's. O K I said let's do it, he then got back in his car and disappeared faster than Hamilton.
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So it clearly does happen.
It would be an interesting discussion about what others would do and what counts as sufficient identification. What does a police pass look like, or for that matter a police uniform.

If there are a few of them with large guns that would certainly count ????

Did I read here some time ago that the Spanish police do not actually have plain clothes police operating on the motorways.
 
We were searched twice at Santander port last week. Once in the queue after check in and again at passport control while the guy in the passport booth held onto our documents. It wasn’t just us, but everyone.
 
We will be getting searched after Channel 4 programme. Smuggling

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We were‘searched by French customs on our way back to England a few years ago. When we asked if he wanted to look in the loo he declined and said “all I really need to do is smell the air - if there was anyone in here I’d smell them”!
 
about 10years ago we were coming out of Andorra into France and got pulled over about 10 miles into France. A van with about 5 big gendarmes demanding to check the van,of course I agreed and 3 burly gendarmes came in side the van looking every where then the van started swaying from side to side. looking out of the rear window I see a huge gendarme climbing up the rear ladder on to the roof??? I came running out of the van yelling at the gendarme to get the f--k down. 2 of them came out of the van hands on guns demanding to know what was going on.
The Elddis autostratus van I have has a "false rear end " decorative section 3 inches deep with no support at all underneath and the gendarme was standing on it. I showed the 2 gendarmes next to me how soft the section was and he understood and spoke to the man on the roof who came down alot gentler than he went up. They apologised and I then got a b---cking off the wife as she thought they were going to shoot me.
 
Jenka said:
Got pulled today on the Italian/ French border heading towards Nice ,very polite police man asked me to open the hab door dropped his head inside then said thank you and off I go,I could have anything in there but I guess they meet their targets.
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They probably know what they’re doing, I don’t think they have targets to meet.
 
Maybe they've been watching 'Breaking Bad'.
 
A few years ago (here in Spain) I phoned the police as we had an intruder on the roof of the house. The police arrrived within a few minutes in a very old, unmarked vehicle, four of them, in plain clothes and armed to the teeth!
If you ask for an English speaking operator when you phone 112 there is always someone available to speak your language.
Not sure though whether the plain clothed lot are patrolling the motorways, it’s usually the Guardia Civil.

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Had quite a decent check from exiting the ferry in Portsmouth. In the garage we had a few large black bin bags tied tightly which they insisted we open. Unfortunately our dogs had 'issues' with worming tablets on route and these bags held the motorhome soiled carpets and associated towels. They didn't go much further and moved on to another motorhome lol
 
webby1 said:
So it clearly does happen.
It would be an interesting discussion about what others would do and what counts as sufficient identification. What does a police pass look like, or for that matter a police uniform.

If there are a few of them with large guns that would certainly count ????

Did I read here some time ago that the Spanish police do not actually have plain clothes police operating on the motorways.
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I believe that unmarked spanish police cars still have to have lights in the back.

There is a good facebook group called 'N332' which is run by spanish police specifically for english motorists, they are very good at clarifying spanish rules etc.

we have had two experiences whereby a car which was parked up near to a roundabout followed us and as they overtook us stayed just past us in the second lane. the passenger was having a good look straight at me. id done a lot of research and i immediately jumped to what i still think was the right conclusion that they were sussing us out for a roadside robbery. they both had flourescent jackets on and i think they would have pulled me over pretending to be the police. i eyeballed the passenger back with my best paddington bear stare and they took off at speed. i was expecting them to be further on and would flag us down but no, my paddington bear stare must have worked. or he spotted my dash cam which would have been in his line of sight to me!!

i do believe that in any circumstances like this you should pick up your phone as if you are recording them. 9 out of 10 times i believe they will drive off. unfortunately the 1 in 10th time will be a police officer who is pi55ed off as they dont like to be filmed but i'll take them odds anyday.
 
We had suffered a previous attempt to stop us a few years ago, travelling around Barcelona in a car. On that occasion they threw something at the back of the car and then drove alongside gesturing at the rear of the car, for us to pull over on the side of the road. We refused to stop and they drove off

On this occasion I had seen the car parked up on a slip road, as we passed. and remarked to wife that it was the first police car I had seen on the road this trip - I did not click that it was Douane, and not Gendarme. They quickly caught us up and drove alongside, with lights flashing on roof and a female officer gestured out of the passenger side that we should follow them. They then pulled in front and put a light on in the rear window that alternated between "Customs" and "Follow me". At this point I never gave any thought to anything other than they were genuine and that they had picked on the two most unlikely smugglers ever.

When we stopped in the layby there was a chap and two female officers all in uniform and armed. When he asked me "how much money I had" I was thrown for a moment, thinking he is after my cash, when I told him 200 euros, he lost interest in that. The layby was on the edge of a village rather than a quiet location, or the road side, that I think robbers would choose

When something like this happens it is easy afterwards to think about what you should watch for and say and how you should act/react. At the time there is too much happening for me to cover all the angles - but it made our day
 
On our way out of Portsmouth we was checked by the customs for a check. A young man came into the motorhome and started to open a top cupboard , And out fell my sons girlfriends undies. He blushed well. Said thank you very much and left .
 

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