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"Los Tres Banditos" in SLP at it Again


Ezzie

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Just another scam by the Policia Estados of San Luis Potosi I fell victim to this past weekend. I would like to share this so those who travel through the state can be better prepared if you are pulling a trailer.

I was travelling on the new cuota between Tula and Cerritos (Hwy 101) and about 2 km. before the "T" onto the 75D connector over to Hwy. 57 I was pulled over by "Los Tres Banditos" travelling in the opposite direction in their Police Vehicle. Here's how the scam works. One comes up the driver's side and the second up the passenger side. While the first is checking your lisence and vehicle permit and discussing with you your excessive speed (NOT), the third one is out of site behind the trailer removing your lisence plate and hiding it.

Once the third cop is done, he approaches the driver's side and asks you to step out of the car and come back to the rear of the vehicle. They then point out that you have no tag on the trailer and make a HUGE big deal about it. I offered to show my TIP and title for the trailer but they didn't want to see it. First they suggest the trailer will need to be towed to SLP - I say "OK". Then they change their mind and say it will need to be left at the side of the road - NOT!!!

The negotiations then continue and we settle on an appropriate "fine". Everybody is then happy (except me since I now have to get a replacement lisence plate for my trailer) but we can continue our journey.

A friend of mine had exactly the same thing happen to him while towing through SLP about a year ago. Recommended solution - make sure ALL lisence plates are fastened down with security bolts that are available from Autozone. I had them on the truck but not on this trailer.

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There should be a public / legal petition sent to the governor of SLP about this ongoing harassment and corruption.

I'm sure many lakesiders would be happy to sign it, offer affadavits of their own experiences, and contribute to any costs involved.....

Spencer, are you reading this?

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Why not send a copy of the incident to the Jalisco Attorney General Luis Carlos Najera and ask him if he can intervene. Granted it isn't our state, but, I'm sure he knows the right people to talk to

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sounds like the same guys that hit me last year after I left the toll booth past SLP, I reported it (denunciada) through Spencer, not having the vehicle number or badge did not help much. And I have not heard anything since, cost me a blue ray player but I had the serial number, also in the report.

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There's an overpass not that far before the "T" onto 75 that is an exit for Cerritos. The cop thieves like to sit under there and do their little mordida game. The other place on that route they sit is by the overpass at the 75 segment going over to the 57 where the big cement plant is.

And of course their long time favorite place to rob motorists is in that industrial park stretch of the south bypass with the ridiculously low 60 kph speed limit.

Watch your speed in those two places.

These SLP cops are a bunch of crooks. I'm all in favor of filing some sort of joint complaint to the Federal government.

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Go through SLP and do not take the Toll, faster, safer, and cheaper.

That section of toll road is fairly isolated [and a boring drive with almost nothing to see along the way] except early mornings when the truck caravans pass through going south or going north and seems to be a hotspot for speed traps and as MC mentioned the industrial park entrances have a 60 klm/hr. speed limit [37 miles/hr.] when there is usually no traffic around and this is where they sit in waiting usually I have read on several accounts.

I timed the difference going through to the Mx.57 south towards Queretaro from the north Mx.57 north of SLP and saved exactly 14 minutes on the toll road point to point. I have a lot of time on my hands sometimes. It might not be worth the potential hassle if you have foreign plates, even from another Mexican state, if they persist on stopping people.

If you have SLP plates they can simply give you a speeding infraction which is about $500 pesos and if you pay within a week about $250 pesos. If you are from out of state they have you follow them to the office where you pay the infraction there and it is quite a drive from the toll road. They are most likely not bothering vehicles with SLP plates, I might suspect.

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Thanks for posting... this type of situation is very delicate and one should avoid confrontations with these type of police.

A couple of years ago my mex landlord had family drive down from nob. They where also stopped but being able to speak spanish they argued and talked about denuncia etc.. they manage not to pay anything and drive away.......only to be surrounded by 2 trucks with armed men that forced them to stop and left them walking on the highway.

I dont agree with the shakedowns but i as many of us do...just come to an agreement.

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Why are State police writing tickets or enforcing traffic laws on a federal hwy?

That's just the point - they are not writing tickets. It's all about collecting some spare cash.

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That's just the point - they are not writing tickets. It's all about collecting some spare cash.

No Ezzie. The point is, only the federal police can cite you while on a federal highway. State police nor state transit police have any authority on federal highways. They couldn't issue a legal summons if they wanted to.

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Cooper,with all due respect,most foreign travelers probably aren't aware of which law enforcement agency has jurisdiction on any given road,the fact is that they're armed and intimidating,so what would you suggest that a person do in the circumstances described by the poster who was confronted by these rogue cops?

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No Ezzie. The point is, only the federal police can cite you while on a federal highway. State police nor state transit police have any authority on federal highways. They couldn't issue a legal summons if they wanted to.

They've been running that speed trap racket at the industrial park for years and no one has put a stop to it.

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Cooper,with all due respect,most foreign travelers probably aren't aware of who has jurisdiction on any given road,the fact is that they're armed and intimidating,so what would you suggest that a person do in the circumstances described by the poster who was confronted by these rogue cops?

Well, isn't that exactly what these forums are about? Educating the ignorant about the way things work in this country? Ezzie now knows. Personally I would insist on a ticket. This is something they cannot produce and immediately limits there ability to scam.

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All I am trying to do is raise awareness of the "stealing of a licence plate scam" and to advise people who have trailers that are towing through the State of SLP to fasten them on with security bolts. That's all. As I stated, there is a pattern here as a friend of mine also got jacked with the exact same MO about a year ago while heading north on the SLP bypass (by the GM plant). I am not looking for suggestions on what I should have done - I think I handled it the correct way for my situation and travel schedule. I had the darn bolts on my truck plates but never got around to doing it with this trailer. My bad!!

I was not intimidated by these guys and I was able to communicate with them in my broken Spanish just fine. I know that State and Municipal Police are not supposed to be issuing tickets for traffic violations on Federal Highways, especially the toll roads (cuota). I asked them to write me a ticket for speeding - they of course would not. I offered to show them my valid TIP and registration papers for the trailer - they didn't want to see them. I also had a brief conversation with the one who seemed to be the "jefe" about denuncias. They suggested I would have to have my trailer towed to SLP since it had no plate - I said fine, let's do it. They did not call a tow truck. They suggested I should leave my trailer right there on the side of the road - I said no way. It was kind of a "Mexican standoff" - so we arrived at the $500 peso "fine" and everybody was happy. I didn't want to push my luck by taking down names, photos of them and their truck, etc. I could have even phoned a good friend who is a Federal Police officer to assist, but it just wasn't worth it.

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No Ezzie. The point is, only the federal police can cite you while on a federal highway. State police nor state transit police have any authority on federal highways. They couldn't issue a legal summons if they wanted to.

I read the Leyes de Transito from the State of San Luis Potosi just now. You are correct. The municipal and state pólice and the transitos from either forcé are authorized on state and municipal property. The regular state and some municipalities´ pólice are authorized to give traffic and vehicle citations and check licenses, registration and conditon of vehicles in this state, not only transitos or verification officers.

http://148.235.65.21/LIX/documentos/leyes/30_Ly_Transito.pdf

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We've been pulled over twice on that stretch of road for speeding (and we were). Each time we were stopped, I pulled out my cell phone and started taking pictures, very ostentatiously, of the cops, their car etc. When they came to the drivers side window, I asked them for their name and badge number, in Spanish. Both times we were let go with just a warning. One cop was so nice about it, I felt guilty for making a fuss. Guess I don't feel guilty any longer, after reading these posts!

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We've pulled pulled over twice on that stretch of road for speeding (and we were). Each time we were stopped, I pulled out my cell phone and started taking pictures, very ostentatiously, of the cops, their car etc. When they came to the drivers side window, I asked them for their name and badge number, in Spanish. Both times we were let go with just a warning. One cop was so nice about it, I felt guilty for making a fuss. Guess I don't feel guilty any longer, after reading these posts!

We've pulled pulled over twice on that stretch of road for speeding (and we were). Each time we were stopped, I pulled out my cell phone and started taking pictures, very ostentatiously, of the cops, their car etc. When they came to the drivers side window, I asked them for their name and badge number, in Spanish. Both times we were let go with just a warning. One cop was so nice about it, I felt guilty for making a fuss. Guess I don't feel guilty any longer, after reading these posts!

So did these cops look like city cops, federal, state or keystone cops?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have been stopped 2 times in the speed trap near the GM plant. First time I was going 130 according to their radar. Polite "I am so sorry I didn't see the sign" Please give me the ticket & I will pay for my offense. Said he he had to take my license until I paid. I replied he couldn't to which he went to his car and returned with a copy of the SLP traffic laws and showed me that they can in SLP. I replied ok take my license, however you will need to give me an official receipt for it so I have proof I have a license if I am stopped on my trip to GDL. He said he had no way to do that. I said I was sorry again, and he replied have a good day and please keep your speed down. ( I do have a second copy of my license which I reported lost so I have nothing to worry about if they take it)

Remember if you pay mordida you are guilty of bribery which is a prison offense. Never pay. Be nice, smile, ask forgiveness and say you will pay the fine at the hacienda if they give you the ticket. If you are driving with a foreign plated vehicle, with a foreign drivers license, they know giving you a ticket is useless.

I have been stopped by local transitos, state police, and federal police in the last 10 years, and have never paid a bribe or received a ticket. I always start with a smile, and leave with a tiene un buen dia and a handshake.

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