PRIORITY:Medium ENCRYPTION: High, RFP coding IDENTIFICATION:Kadett Laura Carsten SOURCE:planet Hamburg TIME STAMP:28th October, 16:54 local time SUBJECT:Smugglers´ weekend patrol report
*Laura appears on the screen in the polizei office building on planet Hamburg with view on the metropolis behind her*
Guten tag, Kadett Laura Carsten sending first report. I didn´t have time to make any earlier, there were other more important things to do. But, after this weekend, I have to send it because it was quite eventful. I would even call it smugglers´ weekend because I caught a lot of them.
Well, more precisely speaking, the first one wasn´t typical smuggler. Hmm...hard to say. I found him in Frankfurt. During patrol I saw on my scanner VWA ship 9K away heading into Taunusfeld asteroid field. I tried to catch him but he disappered somewhere in field. Just when I wanted to return, OSC liner appeared there from Sigma-13 jumphole. With load of holosculptures so I stopped it. I was not sure if to confiscate cargo or not - if it belongs under exception for luxury goods or not. And captain told me he thought OSC can transport this luxury item in Rheinland. This should needs to be clarify in laws I think. But then captain admitted he is heading to planet New Berlin what breaks the exception in paragraph 3.1.4. anyway, so I confiscated the cargo and because I couldn´t transport it elsewhere due to my Phantom´s so small cargo hold, I destroyed it. Just when I was finishing my intervention, that VWA ship of person Erich Klugmann appeared there again but for some reason just approached, looked at the scene and then before I could do anything, quickly jumped through hole into Sigma-13 so I let him go as I couldn´t enter this system. Maybe he was afraid of me? I hope so. Anyway, uploading evidence...
Now to my second catch. During checking ships via TLAGSNET, I noticed that in Frankfurt is one heading from Sigma-13 loaded with counterfeit software. I quickly moved and waited for him at Frankfurt gate in New Berlin. It turned out it is a Zoner´s Whale full of that cargo. Pilot was fortunately cooperating so I easily confiscated cargo and gave him fine according to laws which he paid. Then I destroyed that useless contraband. Evidence here...
That was case two, now to the number three which happened shortly after when I returned to patrol around planet New Berlin. I caught there Junker with Behemoth full of black market munitions which undocked from The Ring. He was fortunately cooperating too, claiming he didn´t know he can´t transport this cargo. Pfff... But he apologized then. The problem was he said that he obtained that contraband for his last money so he can´t pay the fine. To solve it, I let him to dock back on The Ring and return the cargo for his money. By the way, somebody should investigate how was possible to buy munitions there illegaly and who sold it to this Junker.
Anyway, it turned out that he still don´t have enough money for the fine. Just when it looked like there will be no other option than arrest him, he was able to contact his friend which gave him needed amount and he paid, so I let him go. Case closed, evidence here...
But now to the most risky action during my weekend patrols. It turned out that smugglers were really active during last two days. Everything started on sunday evening when I saw via TLAGSNET another ship loaded with black market munitions. Its name was Starryder and was heading from The Ring - again! - towards Hamburg, where I was waiting for it at New Berlin gate. But suddenly, he stepped out from Dortmung-Hamburg gate lane. I jumped in and tried to caught the smuggler but I was too late there. Because it was obvious he wants to cross trade embargo and go to Liberty, I returned to Hamburg with intention to patrol in the north, waiting for him. But when I arrived in front of planet Hamburg, I saw there Junker Pilgrim Liner loaded with silver ore, which just took the lane to battleship Westfalen. I ordered captain to stop there what she did. During questioning, she told me that ship is heading to Hudson, to sell the cargo to another hauler there what is legal in her opinion. But obviously she was part of embargo breaking chain just trying to find a loop-hole in laws. During our conversation, she even started to be disrespectful and then simply started engines towards Hudson jump hole. After that I disrupted ship cruise engines and shooting started. But because I didn´t have enough firepower, I couldn´t prevent smuggler to jump to Hudson. I guess this ship should be added to kill-on-sight list. Uploading records now...
So, that is for smugglers. There were also two another, much more calmer events, which I should mention. First one was the freelancer pilot in Kujira which I met on his way to planet Hamburg with load of aluminium. I accompanied him to be sure he is really heading there and during the way, I checked his license and found he has only the one for smaller transports under 3 600 cargo units. See yourself...
I noticed him about it and asked him to solve this problem. He then asked me about possibilities in Rheinland and after I named them, he proposed to join Republican Shipping secondary fleet what I agreed. I think boys from Republican owe me a bier.
Anyway, another event was encounter with Gallic trading ship. I noticed unusual reading on TLAGSNET and went to check it and found Gallic train at Stuttgart full of blue jillies. From what pilot said to me, even Gallic king himself wanted these beautiful flowers to his celebration. Maybe food for thought for those who, by some rumours, want to mark these as illegal only because some wrong people use them as symbol. They are on of the very well known symbols of planet Stuttgart and obviously so beautiful that even foreigners from so far away house wants them.
Anyway, I accompanied the ship on the way to Sigma-13. By the way, Gallic ship looks really different. You can take a look and also read our conversation in data attachment.