i now know why the ai's warn their guests.

the Jamaican people are great but the police are the danger.
probably about my 50th trip over 39 years and just the second time i have been hassled by the police.
the first was minor but this one was bad.
had been in red ground visiting the family we have known all these years and was going to head back to B.C.C.. one of the boys offered a ride so we took it. got stoppd at the church at the bottom of the road. car was completely searched and a small amount of ganga was found.
the cop started off that we would all go to jail even though we were just riding in the car. of course my first thought was "how much is this going to cost me?". we were there approx an hour though and the longer we were there the more i thought a possibility he was going to take us in. this being a saturday night we of course had no interest in being there till monday. my wife was freaking out of course as we would of course be seperated. the cop played it for all he could and $300 U.S. later we were free to go. he let our friend take us to the hotel and get the cash. BASICALLY I GOT ROBBED by a guy with a gun in a police uniform.

Bumb***** !!!!!

Yes, you were robbed and that sucks!!
I too, for the first time ever (1st trip 1996) had ganja taken from me by undercover (yes, I asked for ID).
(Short version of story)
Some renta was in my ear and I believe he was selling ganja, the cop for some odd reason thought I was holding the stash for the renta.
According to the cop, because I cooperated he let me go FREE, but kept the ganja of course.

The equation the way I think it

ganja + car = nothing good is going to come of this
nothing good is going to come of this / ganja = fine

Sorry to hear about your experience. FYI. Babylon...Never trust them.

All the more reason to only use legally licensed and insured red plated taxis. As has been mentioned, Negril is a small town and the police pretty much know everybody.

Perhaps you dont know this person as well as the police do. Like it or not, you were involved in an illegal activity and you didnt go to jail. Count your blessings, and next time take a legal taxi. Had you been in a legal taxi, you would not have had to worry about being an accomplice to a crime.

If a legal taxi is carrying something illegal, all passengers are considered innocent. This is not the case when you are in a private passenger vehicle.

A very informative thread. Sorry about you and your wife being hassled, that must of been a real pain, but thanks for the heads up and the advice.

Sorry for your bad experience. I don't know what I would have done. I must admit that guns give me the creeps, regardless of who's carrying it. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with the fact that police in most countries are armed. I'm just not used to it.

Whoa ... that must have been scarey. I've done a fair amount of driving in JA and have been pulled over several times. Sometimes it's just been their routine inspection stops ... other times, they may have clocked me with their radar (oops, lead foot). I've been fortunate never to have gotten a ticket, but I've been threatened with a 'very large fine'. I will say that being a woman seems to have worked in my favor (and no, I don't give favors), and sometimes my time in Jamaica has been on official business, and in those cases, when I tell them that I will need to have them talk to my contact at the Embassy and explain exactly what they'd like to fine me with - the police have always backed off......and frankly it's because they don't really want to write me a citation .... they want to get paid off individually - just like the $300 you forked over. Other times when I've been pulled over, they've been more interested in getting my phone number and letting me know what time they get off work. Once, I was pulled over and the first thing the cop said to me was, "well, you look like you work out at the gym"..... I knew at that moment this was more of a courtesy stop than a violation. Really sorry Spanky that you had to go through that ..... but thank God you and your wife were not incarcerated .... I hear it's no vacation behind Jamaican bars.

thanks for the replies. i do realize it could have been a lot worse not financially but in all other ways. just need to be more carefull going forward. as a sidenote we are actually returning with our 12 and 15 year olds in a few weeks and could you imagine if they had been in the car and that's how they found out their dad had ganja!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chet & Coleen

The equation the way I think it

ganja + car = nothing good is going to come of this
nothing good is going to come of this / ganja = fine

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I agree with the above quote...getting pulled over here in NYC and most places in the U.S with ganja + car - you would have never been able to "buy" your way out for $300 with no court date or weekend jail..I would consider myself lucky:cool:

Very risky to travel with ganja of any amount in Jamaica......

This song reminded me of this thread:

Sizzla - Solid as a Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCWawwIiA1I

My three experiences with Jamaican police keep me from wanting any sniff of trouble, ever. I wasn't involved in two of them, but I saw the incidents up close...not pretty...there is no one watching the watchers so to speak...I'd never ride "dirty"...just not worth it.

The third incident is described here:
http://www.negril.com/discus/message...tml?1303242196

It is really the BEST advice for anyone going to Jamaica. If it's your thing, do it safely:

Leave the cigarettes at home.

Get cigarettes when you arrive at your destination.

You do not want to mess with the Jamaican Po Po.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brasi

The third incident is described here:
http://www.negril.com/discus/message...tml?1303242196

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Had you not ordered the curry goat, you might have been in big trouble ....

What about the Canadian girls?

Pretty frank discussion, including some long time travelers

It is impossible for me to speak to the riding dirty in Jamaica issue. I can count on one hand the times I have ever been in a vehicle in Ja w/o me behind the wheel. I drive. That said I will mention that over the years I have seen many many times travelers in gypsy/rasta cabs in a police stop on the side of the road with that what did I get myself into stricken look on their face, saw some out between the Riu's and Orange Bay the other morning with the contents of their luggage strewn on the verge.

I can speak to the driver stops in Ja. I got to thinking last night and realized that I have with all trips combined over a years experience of driving Jamaican roads. Much of it is not just a run to HiLo, a good day for me is to pick up kids in the hills and run them to school in Green Island and then cut back up and over to a friends farm on the south coast. A thrill is to pick a road on the map that goes from A2 on the south coast to A1 on the north with a stop in Mandeville or MoBay. Thank god rentals do not charge mileage in Jamaica.

I should note that I'm a 50 plus male and I have never had an officer ask me if I work out, laughing with you kat.

That said I have been involved in about every type of stop available in Jamaica. From seat belt checks to radar stops to very serious JDF searching for weapons and drugs stops. I should note that for every stop I have been in I have driven through countless others.

To be educational to potential drivers here are my opinions.

Never never drive dirty in Jamaica, I have had officers take a car apart for no reason. Was I scared or intimidated, not really, if the are getting weapons and drugs off the streets more power to them. That which keeps me and my family safer I cheer.

In all of the stops have I ever had the feeling that this was a "give me a little something something" stop. Not really, I control the flow of the conversation.

That said, there are traffic laws in Jamaica. Have I been stopped for 80 in a 60, have I been stopped for 90 in an 80, have I been stopped for no seat belt? Yeas to all. Have I been issued a ticket everytime? No I control the flow of the conversation, yes sir, no sir, I was watching the beautifal countryside versus my speed gauge sir. I treat a stop in Ja the way I do the multiple hits I take in the states, it is my perception that controls the conversation.

That said have I ever paid a tax on the side of the road. I am ashamed to say I have and that it was at my instigation. I was doing wrong and didn't want to go to the department of revenue and pay a ticket. If you read the papers in Ja you will notice that they are cracking down on police extortian right now, I would be very careful what I talked to an officer about.

Have I been to the department of revenue and paid for a ticket? Yes more than once. Once again I was speeding, I did not have my seat belt attached, I broke the rules, the officer was doing his job. I do the same in the states.

Face it, we try to make it sound like the police are only extortionist. In some instances they are. But I notice every story starts with us travelers as guilty parties. I feel happy to have the officers on the roads and by ways, a civil society polices itself with laws.

Attachment 10220

You framed the receipt.....lol!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kevin, PA

You framed the receipt.....lol!

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Well yes, not everyone can say they have a 6,000 dollar speeding ticket on their wall, If I remember that was when the exchange had jumped up to about 90 to 1.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chet & Coleen

Well yes, not everyone can say they have a 6,000 dollar speeding ticket on their wall, If I remember that was when the exchange had jumped up to about 90 to 1.

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Chet,

It aint a $6000 speeding ticket, you were guilty of two other charges man.... (grin)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rob

Chet,

It aint a $6000 speeding ticket, you were guilty of two other charges man.... (grin)

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And I think this is how it should be everywhere,,,, in Jamaica the person not wearing the seat belt gets the ticket, not the driver. I was just nice enough to pay Coleen's ticket also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

Had you not ordered the curry goat, you might have been in big trouble ....

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mi imagine Brasi might have ended up in dat truck with dem police if him had ordered two 3 pound Lobsters for him and her.....lol

Cool Runnings, Marko

I have been stopped numerous times by police and have been issued 2 speeding tickets, but have learned my lesson and do not speed anymore and we always wear our seat belts because it saved my life in the States. They stop me because I have a rasta, (Ted), as a passenger and it is time for them to harrass a rasta. They pull him out of the car, make him do the hands on the car stance with legs apart and then they start the questioning about where is his ganja. We never carry ganja and have been searched many times, even searching my purse. They have never asked me for money and I will NOT pay them any.

I am sorry you had this unfortunate incident, but I agree with some others that you need to be careful who you ride with.

Best $300 USD you ever spent!
I have Jamaican friends who have spent time in Lock-Up.
Not a place you want to be.

I got stopped on the road coming back from Lucea and there was no sign to indicate a decrease in the speed limit from 80 to 50 but I was slowing down anyway because I saw a child crossing sign in the distance. Right after I was passed by a speeding JUTA bus, a Jamaica PO stepped into the road to stop me. He showed me his radar gun and it said 80. When I asked him if it was possible that he had caught the JUTA bus that was passing me, he replied "No, I waited until the bus was clear before I aimed at you."

I think I just might go get a frame.....

Words of Wisdom to remember-
"How much is da fine if mi pay it Now"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dave

Words of Wisdom to remember-
"How much is da fine if mi pay it Now"

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hahahaha!! I considered that....but chose not to. Sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em......when to walk away and when to run. :)

http://www.iberostar.info/ticker/ima... come back....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SweetSue

hahahaha!! I considered that....but chose not to.

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GOOD for you,
..'cause there ARE quite a few "..do the right thing.." cops down-there.

'twould be a shame if you got one of the good-ones,
and he/she was offended cause you tried to offer a bribe,
which could/would BE grounds for getting lock-ed up and charged.

:-(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by smith744

GOOD for you,
..'cause there ARE quite a few "..do the right thing.." cops down-there.

'twould be a shame if you got one of the good-ones,
and he/she was offended cause you tried to offer a bribe,
which could/would BE grounds for getting lock-ed up and charged.

:-(

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Depends on how you say it :confused:
Spoken w/Respect it shouldn't cause a problem
Roadside justice is the norm - not only in Ja. but all over da world

Dave - the times they are a changing - you must watch what you say... just because something worked in the past does not mean it works in the present...

Going to grocery shop this morning, Ted and I were stopped on the roundabout. They started right away on him and said if they found anything, they would put both of us in jail. Well he was so mad he spouted off at them. I tried to hush him to no avail. They told me to get out of the car, which I did. Then they said for me to watch them as they searched the vehicle, which I did and knew they would not find anything. Of course they wanted the papers and my drivers license and then asked a very stupid question, at least in my opinion, "Who owns this vehicle?" If they looked at the papers they would see my name is the same for the insurance and the drivers license, but I politely answered them whenever they asked a question. Also asked me where I lived and checked the trunk too. Eventually they were tired of harrassing Ted and me and let us go. This is the worst stop I have ever had with the threatening me with jail.