Water in a beer bottle, a stray snake and loud music on a train: a week of local police quirks

Municipal police forces in several Latvian towns dealt with a string of odd incidents over the past week.

Water instead of beer

In Ogre, near the "Pie zelta liepas" café, police stopped three people holding a plastic bottle labeled as beer with 5.8 percent alcohol content. The group claimed the bottle actually contained water, not beer. After smelling the contents, officers confirmed it was indeed water. They explained that drinking water from a beer-labeled bottle could mislead others in public and asked the group to dispose of it, which they did. No violation was recorded.

A dock swept away by the river

After last week's storm, water levels on the Venta river rose sharply near Skrunda, sweeping a boat dock downstream toward Kuldīga. The dock's owner appealed for help on social media, and later reported that it had been successfully recovered.

Campfires turn out to be a "business plan"

In the Cekule forest in Ropaži municipality, local police found three men burning plastic insulation off electrical wires, apparently to collect and sell the scrap copper. The men said they work in building demolition and hoped to earn extra income this way, but were instead cited for an administrative violation, since burning waste is strictly prohibited in the municipality.

Loud music and swearing on a train

In Ādaži municipality, police had to remove a passenger from an electric train who was playing loud Russian music, swearing, and ignoring the conductor's requests to stop. A breathalyzer test showed a blood alcohol level of 2.2 per mille, and the man had prior violations for disturbing public order. He received an administrative fine.

A snake startles visitors in Ventspils

At Ventspils' Enkuru Park, which features a children's "Jungle Trail," visitors spotted a large snake. Both municipal police and fire and rescue service specialists responded, safely catching the reptile and releasing it into a forest. The incident sparked debate on social media over whether it was a harmless grass snake or a venomous adder — most accounts suggest it was a grass snake.