Ozzy Fudd Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 having thought about it i suppose it is possible (or probable) that they keep an eye on anything being sold that would be of use to terrorists or someone; the thing that really gets me though is why would the feo say anything? no offence to feo's but theyre hardly top line anti terrorist investigators; surely the shadowy powers wouldnt turn round to your feo and ask him to check why youre selling so much night vision kit? i thought if it was the case we are being watched you would have had a visit from someone more, well, intimidating (for want of a better word) than your feo mentioning it when your renewal came up. unless someone contacted your feo to ask him about you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 your FEO is there to make sure you have just reason to hold the guns you have asked for, and to give your safe a kick. I cant see them having the time to spend trawling fleabay looking at who is selling what. There are government bodies set up to monitor things that appear odd (i obviously dont know this for sure, but its a safe bet) or could be used to harm others. If mine asked me why i had been selling so many things on a certain site, i would have asked them why they needed to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytie Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 having thought about it i suppose it is possible (or probable) that they keep an eye on anything being sold that would be of use to terrorists or someone; the thing that really gets me though is why would the feo say anything? no offence to feo's but theyre hardly top line anti terrorist investigators; surely the shadowy powers wouldnt turn round to your feo and ask him to check why youre selling so much night vision kit? i thought if it was the case we are being watched you would have had a visit from someone more, well, intimidating (for want of a better word) than your feo mentioning it when your renewal came up. unless someone contacted your feo to ask him about you? The information gathered would be passed to special branch, who are based all over the country in major police stations not just in London, it would then be decided on what would be the best approch to the subject of the gathered intelligence. In this case it was the FEO. Don't be surprised by this. Special branch monitor many special interest groups constantly, from trades unions, opposition MP's (Harold Wilson was a prime, well publicised example), religeous groups etc.etc. and rarely will you ever meet them. ft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 The information gathered would be passed to special branch, who are based all over the country in major police stations not just in London, it would then be decided on what would be the best approch to the subject of the gathered intelligence. In this case it was the FEO. Don't be surprised by this. Special branch monitor many special interest groups constantly, from trades unions, opposition MP's (Harold Wilson was a prime, well publicised example), religeous groups etc.etc. and rarely will you ever meet them. ft yeah i know that, but what i mean is why the feo? surely they mustnt have thought of you as much of a risk if they just asked the feo to have a word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytie Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 yeah i know that, but what i mean is why the feo? surely they mustnt have thought of you as much of a risk if they just asked the feo to have a word? Precisely. If you come to their notice they will have a good look at you, and then decide the appropriate response. Ft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Precisely. If you come to their notice they will have a good look at you, and then decide the appropriate response. Ft no, but what i mean is what was the point in the feo asking you? if theyd classed you as such a minimum (or no) risk why did he say anything at all? and why wait til the renewal of your licence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytie Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 no, but what i mean is what was the point in the feo asking you? if theyd classed you as such a minimum (or no) risk why did he say anything at all? and why wait til the renewal of your licence? If they wanted to make him nervous, they seem to have succeded There might have been a different response if his name was Hamza or OBL ft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 babs that would assume that they did ask and that it wasn't just another bit of interweb fiction. You've got to get an ebay id and work out who owns it, that he's got a shotgun application in the pipeline. Then ask his FEO to bring it up and this is all about selling a few legal to buy and use products in the uk. Unless his surnames Binladen I'd suggest this is unlikely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 babs that would assume that they did ask and that it wasn't just another bit of interweb fiction. You've got to get an ebay id and work out who owns it, that he's got a shotgun application in the pipeline. Then ask his FEO to bring it up and this is all about selling a few legal to buy and use products in the uk. Unless his surnames Binladen I'd suggest this is unlikely im starting to revert back to my original thoughts on this topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piebob Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) babs that would assume that they did ask and that it wasn't just another bit of interweb fiction. You've got to get an ebay id and work out who owns it, that he's got a shotgun application in the pipeline. Then ask his FEO to bring it up and this is all about selling a few legal to buy and use products in the uk. Unless his surnames Binladen I'd suggest this is unlikely Agreed, THAT scenario is unlikely. Much more likely is- Ebay is regularly monitored by police for anything they deem dodgy e.g. surveilance equipment, night-vision systems, etc, etc - ongoing They call Ebay and get users credentials - 2minute phone call If not Ebay, then the ISP - again 2 minute phone call They type in some stuff "He sells tons of NV stuff - WATCH HIM" or similar into a police file - 30 seconds All of the above may already be automated FEO gets licence request so checks said file and sees "He sells tons of NV stuff - WATCH HIM" or similar recorded on the file. FEO decides, off his own bat, to mention it to see what response he gets. Or, this is all Walt-speak. Edited May 7, 2009 by Piebob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOOTANDFISH Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 They maybe watching you But.... You"ve got the upper hand as you can watch them at night with your night vision units... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 As part of the fac renewal/grant process the police firearms licensing staff will do a PNC and Special Branch check on you and your immediate family members. Now it is just possible that the OP has come to the attention of Special Branch monitoring because of the number of NV units he has sold and if this is the case then the Special Branch report to the licensing manager would mention this with perhaps a request that the FEO brings the matter up at interview. FAC application procedural good practice states: 1.2 Applicant a) Checks required on applicant • PNC/CRO • DVLA • Criminal Intelligence • Domestic Violence/Child Abuse • Complaints and Discipline • Special Branch • Checks should also be made elsewhere for information which may be held in respect of the applicant. • Check firearms department files for any information about the applicant (e.g. shot gun file/previous revocation/refusal etc.). So his post is quite plausible. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tefal Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Why not just ask your FLO how/where he got the information from and tell him your concerns about big brother watching you. Don't know if you'll get a complete answer but if they're watching your ebay account you can be certain they know about this thread and are therefore aware of your concerns anyway. You may get an answer that's satisfactory to you, otherwise the worst that can happen is "sorry, can't answer that!". Worth a phone call in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishdave Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Not beyond the realms of posibility; Terry Taliban and his mates have little or no NV capability. No doubt they will try and rectify this to eaven things out a bit. They cant walk in to a shop and buy loads because that would no doubt be flagged up. Why not buy it off of ebay in dribs and drabs, have it shiped to an address in Leeds then send it over in a job lot. The americans are so twitchey about this kit falling in to the wrong hands they wont even sell anything that could be used as a sniper scope outside their own borders. Dave Before the reply I know there are other ways to get kit like this but all they are doing is trying to make it harder for them to get hold of the stuff. On the other hand perhaps it is pure fantasy!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 I think it is entirely reasonable that the authorities would be watching who's selling and who's buying stuff like night vision equipment. If you just do it once you would not show up but if your e-bay address keeps cropping up you will start to appear on lists of people that need to be investigated. Your record would then reflect that you have been looked at. By collecting lots of random information like this thats how they start to build up the big picture. Its just intellegence gathering and it goes on all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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