Beijing police finds Hash House Harriers in terror plot

via WikipediaAfter the head of the international police organization Interpol has warned that Beijing might be targeted by terrorism plots during the Olympics, we can hardly blame the Beijing coppers to be a bit on the edge. So, when they were informed a bunch of foreigners were running around at night, spreading a white powder on the street, the police force jumped into action.
Of course, the Beijing police did not know the tradition of the Hash House Harriers, who sometimes divert from their tradition of loud public singing and drinking and go for a run, explains here a Cup of Tea. The trail of the 8 km run was set out by a trace of flour, actually so much flour the trail became rather flimsy during the run, causing some disorder in the group.
A part of the group was taken to the police station and a serious crime investigation started, putting the group in the impossible position to explain what the Hashers were and why they used flour (and not detergent) for their trail. From the report:

Before the hashers could officially leave however, they were given a stern lecture on never using flour again. As they were walking out the door, one member of the hash invited the police to join their next hash. He didn’t look impressed.

So at 3:57 am, no less that 5 hours later, the Hashers were finally free to go. With one last look they noticed the countdown to the Olympics clock had changed to 105 days.