Tracked out of luck: Woman detained for installing GPS trackers on traffic police cars

A woman in Xiangyang, Hubei province, has been slapped with an eight-day administrative detention and a 500 yuan ($70) fine after installing GPS devices on traffic enforcement vehicles to track their movements and help her drivers avoid inspections.

The scheme came to light on Jan 22 when the traffic law enforcement brigade in Xiangyang noticed an unusual black box attached to the chassis of one of their vehicles during routine maintenance. Upon inspection, it was confirmed to be a GPS tracking device.

Further investigation revealed that six out of the unit's 11 law enforcement vehicles were equipped with similar trackers. Following the trail of the associated phone cards, police quickly identified the culprit as a woman surnamed Zhu and apprehended her.

Zhu, who owns a transportation fleet, admitted to installing the devices to avoid law enforcement checks. Using a mobile app, she could pinpoint the locations of the enforcement vehicles and alert her drivers to steer clear.

According to her confession, Zhu purchased six magnetic GPS trackers for 350 yuan each online in June. Taking advantage of the vehicles' late-night parking at the Xiangzhou station, she managed to install the devices on six vehicles in three separate instances.