Last Thursday night, a friend and I were walking down Constitucion across from CC, next to the little store, towards AB. A little cop stopped us and asked for IDs then searched us. I had a half a tablet of Viagra 100mg that I must have left in my pocket from a previous trip, and was not carrying my prescription. He said that it was very illegal to have it without the prescription on my person, and that I would have to go to jail for three days, or I could pay a fine (bribe) of $50. In accordance with the advice I have received from others on this board from the last time they extorted money from me (I gave them ~$30 for having a handcuff key on my keychain), I asked if I would be getting a ticket and paying at the police station. They did not like that question much and forwarded my friend and I (my friend did not have anything on him) to two other policemen with a car. They proceeded to search us again, take our IDs and phones, and throw both of us in the back of the car. It was now apparently too late to get away with the $50 fine/bribe. They drove around for a while, I asked what was going on, they asked if I wanted to go to jail for 3 days, because it was such a heinous crime to be in posession of ~50mg of Viagra sans prescription. I replied that I did not want to go to jail, I thought I just had to pay a fine. They asked how much money I had, which was $60, and said that was not enough, that we would have to go to jail for 36 hours. They asked if I had a cash card, and I told them I did, so they drove us to an ATM, and one of them got out of the car with me and to the machine, made me put in my PIN number, and then proceeded to punch up 2000 pesos on the keypad, and then took the money when it came out, threw away the receipt and gave me my card. He also made me give him the $50 of the cash I had (what a nice guy!), for a total theft/extortion of $271. He put me back in the car and after driving around and arresting another person, about 45 minutes later they released us at the corner of Revolucion and Coahuila and told us to get out quickly, then they drove away.

I reported the incident to my bank that night, and called the United States consulate the next day and made a report. They said I would have to file a report with the Tijuana district attorney if I wanted anything to happen to the officers, as I did get their car number. When I asked the consulate what they recommended I do the next time this happens, the first thing out of his mouth was 'don't give them money,' but when I asked "well, what SHOULD I do then?" He replied that he did not know, since the officers could easily plant something on us, and cause a much bigger problem. So, although he did say don't give them money, he didn't have any sort of alternative to doing so, and seemed to think that doing anything other than giving them money could result in a much more serious problem.

So, I don't have much good advice. In hindsight, the easiest and safest thing to have done, although I'm sure that no one here or anywhere will advocate it, is to give them the money when they first ask. The guy at the consulate seemed to agree that that would probably cause the least trouble, and to make sure to report the incident to them after it happens. Testing them only seemed to help infuriate them.

I offer this information as a warning. In the three years that I have been going to Tijuana, I have been robbed three times, in the approximate amounts of $40, $30, and $271. One hundred percent of those robberies were by Tijuana's finest. I attempted to resist during thirty three percent of those robberies. You make the call for yourself.

-Mr416

You got fucked over BAD!!! I've know other people who had viagra on them and the cops didn't do anything. Why didn't you goto the station and see the judge?? You could have told the judge that the cops tried to bribe you. I seriously doubt that the fine would have been $271. I really hate cops down there. Pricks.

BTW, why are you taking viagra at your age?? I just heard on the news today that viagra can mess up your vision PERMANENTLY.

These guys had no intention of taking us to the station any time soon. If I had waited it out, as you suggest, one of three things would have happened.

1. They keep us in the back of the car until they are ready to return to base (i.e. their shift is over), which I would guess to be around 6am or later, then we get to see the judge, or worse, stay in a jail cell until the judge is available.

2. They get even more pissed and decide to plant something on us in retaliation for testing them. Then we go to jail, and I wouldn't even be writing this.

3. Both of the above.

Unfortunately, I have better things to do than spend hours in the back of a TJ cop car with two piss-smelling Mexicans, then spend hours in jail for no fucking reason.

Additionally, it seemed to be corrupt cop free-for-all night, as while we were in back of the car, they picked up some other guy for an unknown infraction, and we saw cops EVERYWHERE searching and arresting all kinds of people.

Anyways, when this happens to you, be sure to demand to see the judge and let me know how it turns out.

Why am I taking Viagra at my age? Why am I fucking so many whores at my age? I just heard on the news today that fucking whores can make me die PERMANENTLY. I guess it's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides, I wasn't even taking it that night.

-Mr416

Thanks for the report. It's easy to second guess paying all that $$, but it's a seriously fucked up situation to be in no matter how you slice it, and who knows how any of us would react under the circumstances. I have also been shaken down for merely walking in the Zona. My crime was being a white guy. They did not find anything on me, there's never anything to find but maybe a condom and some lint in my pocket (!!!), but I have friends that haven't been so lucky in that situation. I loved your line about TJ's 'finest'. Exactly. Assholes. A license to steal.

Mr416 said
Anyways, when this happens to you, be sure to demand to see the judge and let me know how it turns out.

Many of us have already posted about when this happened to us, and how to handle it. But you chose not to listen.

When you've done nothing wrong, don't tell them you'll pay at the station, that's bullshit. If you've done nothing wrong, be calm, but be very firm and tell them "I've broken no laws".

If you tell them "I'll pay at the station, and BTW I have a credit card you can take the money from there", they see dumbass written across your forehead and are going to jerk you around.

I you are confident, and firm, stating you've done nothing wrong, they'll let you go and move on to the next guy who has dumbass written across his forehead. They just want quick money, and are going to test you (yes, in this case WF is 100% correct). If they think they can get the money from you, but you just need a little more convincing, they are going to do a little more convincing(as in your case). If your firm stating you've done nothing wrong, they won't mess with you and let you go, because they aren't gonna get your money anyway. Why waste time with you, when there are plenty of suckers out there.

This shit makes me angry at the police more then anything, but Mr416 isn't without blame. He said he's read what's been posted about how to handle the bad cops, yet he ignored it all and gets taken for $271. How much money do they have to take from you before you wise up?

I never take a bank card, credit card or any other plastic to TJ, only cash & drivers license.. It's easy to spread $200 around in various places on your person, so they won't find it without a strip search, hehehe..

Bad break, but thanks for posting it. We need a wake up call now and then...

In this case, he was carrying a drug w/o a prescription and was unaware of whether he had broken any laws. I see this as a valid exception. I have followed the advice offered on this board as you describe when I've been stopped for no reason (with one exception noted below) but probably would have paid the initial bribe if I thought I might have actually broken the law as 416 thought.

My one exception was being stopped in Rosarito in the middle of the night with a Tropical chica in my car. There were no other cars around, I had a beautiful chica w/ me, and wanted to get out of that situation as soon as possible.

416-

Thanks for the heads up, that could easily have been me, I walk around with Viagra in my pocket all the time, I will be more cautious from now on, either take it prior to crossing or hide it better. Two questions....did the police go through your wallet, look inside of it to see how much money you had or see if you had an atm card? Did they cuff you before putting you in the police car?

Mr416, I can't fault you for paying the money, once the situation had ascalated as far as it did. I do, however, hope that you follow through with the complaint against the police. Personally, I think that the situation still could have been salvaged by either saying you had no money in the bank (or if your card was a Visa or Mastercard just saying you had no cash card) and $60 was all you could give them, or by saying something along the lines of "Oh well. I don't want to go to jail, but I guess I have no alternative."

While I think that Chargers was way too harsh, I would agree that you misunderstood what others have said. Don't offer to go to the station and pay. Just say that you have done nothing wrong, remain polite, and do what they tell you to do as long as it does not involve giving them money. It is highly unlikely that they would take you to the station after the way they acted, but I agree that they might have done something even worse. It sounds like you really pissed them off, but that may have only been because you did not react as they expected.

As far as your crime goes, I don't think there was one. For one thing, the penalty for carrying ANY illegal drug is a hell of a lot more than three days in jail, and the bribe to get out of going to jail is a lot more than $50. Also, I had a TJ cop tell me that Viagra is not illegal, unlike antidepressants, narcotics, etc. I won't swear that this guy was a total expert on TJ law, however, even if he is a cop.

Re: classes of drugs... I am no expert either, but it's common knowledge that even in Mexico there is a huge distinction between psychotropics and other prescription meds. You would be in a far different boat if you were caught with something like Valium, for which $30 and a pulse will get you a prescription and a 50% descuenta on the stuff,
making you street legal 'til you decide to cross back into the US.

Digressing from the topic somewhat, but I still remember going to a TJ pharmacy one night with a friend who was wanting to buy one Valium, or something similar. They would not sell him less than 10, but they had no problem selling 400 Somas (all they had in stock) to three high school aged Americans who came in right after us. As part of the haggling process, the kids mentioned that they had gotten a better price when they bought 500 the previous Saturday.

Re: Carrying a prescription for Viagra.. I don't really think it would have matterd to the 2 "armed robbers" in uniform... They would have found another excuse to extort $$$...

I do carry a prescription for V's when in TJ, though I carry only a quarter of a 100MG tablet which I rarely end up using... It's kind of a back up, if I stay late and have one more "date"..

I carry in the upper portion(ankle) of the sock.. My therory is 10 to 1 they miss it in the search, if they do find they have no more clout finding "concealed" V than if in my pocket... Anything I don't want the cops or bandidos to have, I keep in my socks... You can get really tiny baggies at head shops to things stay dry and fresh..

Just a couple more cents,
ag

Offer to go to the station and pay was under the assumption that I had in fact violated a law, and that I wanted to pay the fine legally (not bribe).

-Mr416

Folks:

I was recently the target of a TJ police shakedown (my cab got pulled-over in the TJ hinterlands) and I had viagra in my backpocket...when I was ordered to empty my pockets, I decided to casually flip the viagra-- it was still in its blisterpack-- upsidedown on the hood of the taxi...it settled against the gum and coughdrops and other stuff from my pockets...

I was hoping against hope that the cops would think it was more gum or aspirin or something...

My luck held and soon I was ordered to pick up my stuff and get back in the taxi...

Did the cops not notice that it was viagra?...Did they notice and not care?...yo no se...

Throughout, I tried to keep my cool, but, frankly, was scared crapless...

YoungBrig

Stories like Mr. 416's mishap are even more upsetting when you've actually met the victim and know that he's a real nice guy.

Quarters of a 100mg Viagra tablet are so small that there must be numerous ways of wrapping it up and hiding it successfully, especially if the police are not thorough or are in a hurry.

With the assumption that none of them are reading this board, here are some quick ideas (feel free to critique or add to them): in one of the unused holes (or a purposely made slit) of your belt; in a pack of gum wrapped up in the foil of one of the sticks or made to look like a piece of rolled up garbage; in the crease of your eyeglasses (if applicable); in a hidden pocket of your pants or other article of clothing; in a hidden flap of one of your clothing pockets; somewhere in your sock; between your toes; under your upper lip; or in a secret compartment of your fanny pack.

A Hoping that Viagra only makes my schlong (and not a search) arise kind of guy,

Out-of-Towner

OOT, you left out the most obvious hiding place.

Mr. 416,You made a few mistakes dealing with the cops, but you did the right thing reporting it to the consulate.I believe that THEY not you are supposed to follow up with the locals.I'm really outraged that they told you to do it.I'm going to look around to see if i'm right and if so I'll post a follow up.When an American is the victim of extortion in a foriegn country you report it to the consulate but also get the hell out of that country quick. Suppose this happened in China or moscow? If i find that they should follow up and not you i'm gonna e-mail a senator real quick.

They said that they have meetings with local authorities about three times a year, and that my incident would be brought up during their next meeting. That is as far as they said they would be going with it, if I wish to take it further I have to see the Tijuana DA.

-Mr416

The U.S. consulate in TJ is notoriously piss-poor. If you have a problem, you are much better off if you are a Canadian, or so I have heard.

What about when they ask you to empty your pockets and you just leave the 1/2 pill in your pocket unwrapped? Do they actually frisk you after you empty your pockets? If so they could miss it since it's so small.

US Consulates EVERYWHERE are worthless. If you ever get into serious problems, like being mugged and having everything taken, call the Canadians and tell them you are from Toronto. They will take care of you. Sad, isn't it?

They emptied our pockets for us. Turned them completely inside out. Good guys, they were real dynamite individuals. Fine upstanding members of the human race! You know what they should have is penal rocket ships that they just fill up with guys like this, and just send them to the sun.

-Mr416

Adelito:

That was my experience, too: the cops totally went through my pockets after I took everything out...

I thought about trying to leave the viagra in my pocket, but decided not to risk it...it was a risky proposition either way...

YoungBrig

Just a minute here, I'm not sure I undertsand. You can purchase Viagra w/o a prescription at a pharmacy in TJ and get busted for it? Something don't add up, like it being illegal to have on your person w/o a prescription does not make sense.

Technically you need a 'script to score....most of the pharmacies display a sign that indicates you need one. I think it's worded "Viagra solo receta" or close to it....where's ReyTJ when you need him?

I was walking from La Tropa to AB that night and saw the cops pushing Mr416 into the car. As I passed, they called me over gruffly. One of them I recognized immediately, but I'm not sure which of my past victimizations brought us together. They told me to put my hands on the car, then proceeded to turn my pockets inside out as 416 reported. I had most of my money concealed and of course I don't bring credit cards to Mexico, so they discovered a hotel key, some chiclets, and about sixty bucks. "I'm not doing anything wrong," I told them a few times. The prick I recognized popped open the chiclets and started chewing a few with his chin jutting out at me, threatingly. What an absolute piece of shit. They asked where I was staying and eventually shoved the money back into my pockets, saying, "No mas putas, eh, no mas putas para ti." "Yeah," I said to placate him. Whatever. They had taken $20.

Red writes "Viagra solo receta" or close to it....

Very close. It's "solo con receta."

I was in La Tropa last thursday, 1 week after Mr416 and driven were scammed by the cops. The same thing happened to 2 young gringos I was sitting at the bar with. They were young, inexperienced, and had ventured to La Tropa for 2 for 1 drinks. They were asking me where to find English speaking non-pro Mexican girls. They were REALLY in the wrong neighborhood! After they left La Tropa, the cops frisked and questioned them. Didn't take any money, not that they had much.
My point: Looks like the stretch of street between La Tropa and AB is dangerous due to different types of rateros these days. Be careful!

Sounds like something the dueno de Miami/Tropical/Las Chavelas/La Tropa/Hong Kong and their associated hotels needs to be made aware of. If there's ANYONE that will stick up for the individual whoremonger and take on the big bad police, they're the ones with the most clout and the most to lose. Not so long ago they were paying for auxiliary cops to work that stretch between La Tropa and the corner to make the foot traffic to La Tropa safer.

I had a friend (who LIVES in TJ) tell me a story last week about a cop attempting to rob him in the Alley recently. Not a shakedown, but just flat out emptied his pockets and was going to keep the $$ until the guy stood up for himself and said 'uh, NO, you're not!'. I think this stuff is really getting out of control, and it's FAR worse now than before Fox took office. It's looking like THIS is how they're going to try and 'clean up' the Zona -- by cracking down on the biggest tourist industry in TJ? Silly.

One thing that hasn't been suggested so far in this thread is a trip to the Office of Tourist Assistance on Revolucion. They're only open daytimes, and maybe just weekdays too, but they are people who are supposed to take reports on such things as crooked cops. I don't know how sympathetic they might be to Zona patronizing gringos, but they are usually pretty eager to help and speak decent English.

Mexico spends a FORTUNE on advertising for their tourist industry. You'd think that bullshit shakedowns by cops would be something they'd spend a little effort on cleaning up if they were serious about wanting people to come.

"One thing that hasn't been suggested so far in this thread is a trip to the Office of Tourist Assistance on Revolucion.
Mexico spends a FORTUNE on advertising for their tourist industry. You'd think that bullshit shakedowns by cops would be something they'd spend a little effort on cleaning up if they were serious about wanting people to come."

The only problem with this right now is that Fox is trying to close down areas of tolerance. The tourism department is more interested in things like the bullring and shops. They can collect revenue easier from these locations than they can from a bar in the zone and the chicas. There has been a lot of police activity in the zone lately. I have even noticed them redirecting traffic off 2nd lately into the zone and having police traps set up to stop and harass people.

I think a better way to get the message across would be to boycott for a week and let them feel the pinch of no Americans in the Zone. It would be even better if this were extended for 2 weeks or more. This would than drive the police activity to Revolution and free the zone up from all the crap for a few weeks to follow.

Many the girls are complaining now that business is very slow. In addition, the hotel owners in the area are saying the same. The only way to get the police in the zone to back off is to get the businesses in the zone to speak up about their conduct. Hurt the business and let the reason be known.

Beware that they are starting to recognize money belts. I saw them asking a guy to take his belt off one day. I have found that if you are in the zone it is better to keep the majority of your money in your sock by the arch of your foot. They will sometimes ask you to take your shoes off but not usually your socks. Keep no more than 20 in your wallet and in pesos if possible. They will not usually take pesos (at least in my past few stops by them). Good luck and be safe.

When money gets tight even good cops and good people can become bad.They believe any gringo can afford a 20 dollars street toll.I suggest if a cop bothers you for a small toll just pay it.Chalk it up as part of the cost of visiting the zona roja.

the area around La Tropa is rife with police, i've been searched there quite often. However, never a problem - at this point it doesnt even raise my heart rate (the first corrupt cop will no doubt change that). On the last search they found the little plastic top to my mini-astroglide - kinda shady looking object. I explained what it was for and they both laughed. So far, the police have been eminently fair with me, but one bad episode will change my opinion in a hurry.

I've been going down to la zona pretty regularly for the last 4 years. Thanks to the advice on this and the Redsnake board I feel fairly comfortable (NEVER completely comfortable enough to let my guard down)flying solo, with my head on a swivel watching for rateros and trying to stay as close to any Policia in the area as added insurance to avoid trouble. Now to read all this it sounds like the entire area is turning into a combat zone where its every man for himself. Has anyone found that travelling in groups has lessened the chance for a hassle from the PoliciaRateros? I'm wondering if the tolerance level will be going down due to Fox's conservative views in combination with the new Freedom Bridge to San Ysidro. To me it sounds and looks like the crooked cops are making an extra effort at a few more bucks before it all fades into history.

I wonder what effect the new Freedom Bridge will have on the toleration level in La Zona Norte. Tourist will be routed closer to the "fun zone" than they are now. One wrong turn nearing Revolucion will put unsuspecting people on Coahuila and give them a tour they did not expect. Mexican officials are very sensitive to keeping the tourist areas clean of prostitutes and bad publicity. How they are going to handle the new route to town will be interesting. Perhaps they will block off the streets going west off the main route to prevent unintentional entries to the North Zone. You would have to go down First Street inorder to enter the Zone.

I am skeptical about the new enty point anyway. Years ago there was big talk about opening a pedestrian enty point on the east side of the customs building. That never happened because of a dispute between Mexico and the US as to who was going to pay for it and who was going to police it. I won't believe a new enty point until I see it.

ya know I was wondering the same thing myself :-)

"Mexican officials are very sensitive to keeping the tourist areas clean of prostitutes and bad publicity" ?????

I've been on Revolution with my mom, and every 20 feet some guy is shouting at me "Hay Meester, you want some good poooosy". I'd hate to see what it would be like if they weren't very sensitive about prostitutes and bad publicity.

First, the TJ Police are controlled by the druglord, Arellano Felix. Have u ever wondered how the poor cops have so much money to buy all those new pickup trucks? Arellano Felix makes sure that his city-wide "security force" (TJ COPS) are well armed and well stocked. Felix owns the Mayor and assasinated the ex Police chief about a year ago. Don't think for a minute that Tijuana is not crooked. Tijuana is corrupt straight down to the core. The mayor, the police, the clubs are all indirectly controlled by the druglord. Felix does not care about tourism when drugs nets him 1000 times more than tourism.

I'm not saying you're wrong or that you're a moron or ANYTHING OF THE SORT HERE, but I am curious how you seem to be so certain about stuff that no one else on the planet besides Village Voice-type conspiracy theorists would be caught dead saying?

WACKOS R US HAS A NEW MEMBER!!!

To Porker's new friend (where do you meet these guys ?),

You are not very well informed. There is no drug lord named Arrellano Felix. There is a drug cartel named Arrellano-Felix which is led by a family of that name originally from Sinaola. Yes, they make huge money from the distribution of drugs across the Tijuana border, probably control all the meth labs in the Baja, were initially connected to the Colombian cocaine cartels, and have greased everything that breathes in TJ.

From what I have read of them they are a lot more than a bunch of street thugs. They are intelligent enough to realize that they need to operate with a minimal amount of blood bathes and tourist outcrys.

Chargers: "I've been on Revolution with my mom, and every 20 feet some guy is shouting at me "Hay Meester, you want some good poooosy". I'd hate to see what it would be like if they weren't very sensitive about prostitutes and bad publicity."

LOL! Just yesterday I was killing time on Revolucion standing out on the sidewalk near Peanuts and Beer and made a point to study how the various "demographic" groups that walked by were approached by the P&B barker corps. For the most part, they did try and adjust their sales pitch when more sensitive ears were in range. But on a number of occasions the magic words "fucky-sucky" rang out loudly in the presence of grandmothers strolling with their grandkids.

I think that these guys are definitely under orders to be discreet, but sex club street barkers not being the most manageable band of desperadoes in TJ, discretion fails often enough.