[ElfKrystal]

thoughts, Thing is If your not carrying them in too large  a case and arent dressed in a way that yells "GANGSTER" lone star has no reason to search you.

[GiraffeShaman]

thoughts, Thing is If your not carrying them in too large  a case and arent dressed in a way that yells "GANGSTER" lone star has no reason to search you.

There are plenty of corrupt cops around that a rival dealer may sic a bought cop on you if you enter into their territory for sales. Especially if it's territory owned by a syndicate or large gang. Just one of the many hazards of tangling with the big boys. Of course the smaller and lamer the market, the less the dangers. Maybe deal in your grandpa's retirement home if you want to play it safe.

[RHat]

thoughts, Thing is If your not carrying them in too large  a case and arent dressed in a way that yells "GANGSTER" lone star has no reason to search you.

And they care about probable cause...  Why?

[Sacredsouless]

thoughts, Thing is If your not carrying them in too large  a case and arent dressed in a way that yells "GANGSTER" lone star has no reason to search you.

And they care about probable cause...  Why?

Lazy. Thats the general feel I get about most of the law enforcement in game. They are largely lazy, won't do anything unless it makes them look good enough to get promoted or will benefit them some other way. So if you don't look suspicious and don't cause any trouble, they will probably leave you alone.

[emsquared]

An interesting complication could be that if any of your PCs have a datajack, maybe it's some new, latest-greatest BTL and the only/safest place to smuggle it is in their slot... or the situation could be:

Runner: No, officer, this is not a BTL.
Officer: Okay, slot it.
Runner: Oh... sure, officer. *Inserts chip - zart!*

[Mithlas]

That's why you disable the driver for a couple slots in your datajack. The computer lights up because something's in the physical drive tray, but the software isn't reading the data there because suddenly it's lost that communicative ability.

That being said, not being noticed as worth a second look is always the first line of defense for a shadowrunner. Hence Giraffeshaman's post. If the police can look at you and then are inclined to say "eh, I'm not bored enough to bother that unimportant schmuck" then you've effectively won.

That being said...getting dumped "accidentally" into a BTL could be an interesting plot thread for a short arc.

[I_V_Saur]

Could be that whatever gang, corp, etc is sending you to do the deal, has you escorting someone who has the stuff hidden on him in smuggling compartments all over his body.

Problem?

He's a slot-head, and he's got the itch.

[Sacredsouless]

All sorts of issues you can toss in. Could have an opposing gang/syndicate learn where you're dropping the goods and meet you there. You could have them catch you enroute to the drop point. Could get hit up by the police for any random reason (most likely boredom coupled with a desire to screw with someone). There's a lot more you can do and many variations on the same basic situation you can toss at the players.

[GiraffeShaman]

A few things about the police in SR. Just like most things in SR, they are a twisted version of real life police. What that means is that there are elements of them that are much the same. Of course with a few vast differences.

The two main differences I can think of: Massive increase in corrupt cops. The police force is privatized.

Lazy is not an attribute that has anything to do with this. Just like our world, there are lazy people in SR and some of them are cops. There are also the direct opposite, insanely driven people. Some of these driven cops are corrupt and their driven nature makes them extremely effective at profiteering from their job. See Vic Mackey of the Shield for an example of this. Some of these driven cops are loyal company men, which can be a weird sort of corruption, in that they may do immoral things to protect their company's image. And yes, there is believe it or not good cops in Shadowrun! And your totem save you if a driven good cop gets on your Shadowrunner or BTL dealer's ass.

So basically the main change in SR from reality is you are much more likely to have to decide where a cop's loyalties lie. To keep things simple I assume 33% corrupt, 33 good cop, and 33 company man. Perhaps I"m a naive sucker, but I assume corruption rates of police are lower than that in real life, at least in the US.

And yes not appearing as anyone important is generally a good shield because it protects you from all 3 types of cops. Something all types of cops like to do is get lesser charges on people like minor posession in order to force them to snitch. It may not be as dramatic as making you narc on other criminals. It may be just them forcibly making you a contact so that they can keep ears on the street.

[Xzylvador]

I've yet to see the first runner team that would NOT look like 'probable cause for further examination'.
Single runners, sure. But in a whole team? Odds are low.

That said, I think the cops should be least of your (runners) worries.
Mafia/Yakuza/Koshari/Triad/<inser syndicate> should always be larger concerns. They stand to gain much more from intercepting said traffic: competitor loses stuff to sell, they get free stuff to sell, that's double profit!
Not to mention gangs looking for a way to make an extra buck, or just a way to get a free high.

Also, if you're looking for reasons why cops or mobsters would come after the innocent-looking smugglers, maybe they have an informer who gave 'em a time and a place. Or a description of the package. Or a description of one of the runners. That'd be more enough to start trouble.
In fact, the employer having a mole seems very likely. Why else would they be hiring a runner team to do a smugglers work?

Edit/add: Which can create a funny situation. Instead of mobsters or cops, maybe a group of smugglers will come after them. "We represent the Smugglers Union. This is our border, chummers. You tell your employers that if they want stuff to come across this border, they pay us, not you. You get that? Now hand over the merchandise. We'll deliver it when we get paid."

[Mach_Ten]

Also depends on WHERE you want to smuggle it to ?

I'd make them know that they have to go past a bajeelion MAD scanners and other stuff  that they need to play safe with.
safest way to the smuggle it is to slot it.

but what is it they are slotting ?   maybe it's just a nasty piece of Black IC  that tries to personafix them  or it hacks their PAN and comm and does other nasty stuff to them at the worst opportunity.

depends how much you want to make them sweat 

[Automaton]

thoughts, Thing is If your not carrying them in too large  a case and arent dressed in a way that yells "GANGSTER" lone star has no reason to search you.

And they care about probable cause...  Why?

Lazy. Thats the general feel I get about most of the law enforcement in game. They are largely lazy, won't do anything unless it makes them look good enough to get promoted or will benefit them some other way. So if you don't look suspicious and don't cause any trouble, they will probably leave you alone.

what do you mean "in game" ?

But seriously, I usually display law enforcement as quite a fanatic and militaristic bunch. Har to get off your back, something that you need to be very careful off to avoid, and very dangerous and a big problem when you do encounter them. (while doing a job)

I play in Neo-Tokyo, the cops have urban tanks and heavily armed drones there, and they aint afraid to use them. 

[Mach_Ten]

I play in Neo-Tokyo, the cops have urban tanks and heavily armed drones there, and they aint afraid to use them. 

not wanting to get into a thread derailment about current affairs but,  as an example

DPRK  has thousands of Tanks and millions of military personel.   but that does not make them an adequate force against tactical insertion.

if your police are prepared and hyper vigilant,  then the masses that they police should be just as utterly paranoid and rebelious maybe.

it's just a different feeling of paranoia,  doesn't make them any more perceptive,

just an idea

[Automaton]

I play in Neo-Tokyo, the cops have urban tanks and heavily armed drones there, and they aint afraid to use them. 

not wanting to get into a thread derailment about current affairs but,  as an example

DPRK  has thousands of Tanks and millions of military personel.   but that does not make them an adequate force against tactical insertion.

if your police are prepared and hyper vigilant,  then the masses that they police should be just as utterly paranoid and rebelious maybe.

it's just a different feeling of paranoia,  doesn't make them any more perceptive,

just an idea

The masses arethe good people of Tokyo, who are mostly employed by either the empire or corporations. And they are of course very loyal and really have no reason to be paranoid.
Only people who do bad and shadowy stuff need to fear the authorities.