A friend told me this story:
A girl at AB told him that one of her regular customers was stoped by TJ policia while he was in the cab.  They told him that he was drunk and fined him $400.  He only had $100 in cash so they told him to get $300 more at ATM.  He withdrew the money and gave them $400.  
Do you think it could be true?  If yes, what would you have done?

-- Modified on 2/7/2007 11:10:39 AM

It could very easily be true.
Many on here would say the best thing to do, if he wasn't drunk, would be to tell the cop to go ahead take him to the police station and he would pay the fine there.
Stories on the boards have said, while this isn't the case here, that if they go to the police station and you're found guilty, it's reported to the DMV.   Doesn't matter even if they did, the DMV doesn't care about a DUI that doesn't happen in the US.

Do I think it's true the TJ cops extorted $400.00 for a guy sitting inside a taxi for public drunkenness? It's possible.

What would I have done?  Told the cops to take me before a judge.  

Judges in Tijuana are on duty 24/7.  Unlike the US, to put you in jail in TJ the cops must have a judge's order.

I don't think what he did was illegal.  It's illegal to drink inside a vehicle and/or to be drunk in public; it doesn't sound like he committed either of these offenses.  If so, the fine is around $20.00 to $80.00 (see link) which is much better than the $400.00 he paid the cops.

My experience is that once the cops see you're serious about seeing a judge they let you go.  There's no money to be made that way.  (The exception is when you're rude and insulting in which case it becomes personal with them.)

-- Modified on 2/8/2007 6:35:52 AM

My friend was stoped on feb 4th . He had a multi vitamin on his person. The cops made him dish out 60 bucks.So don't carry even an antacid cuz these guys are getting desperate.

Sounds like the cops are intent on strangling the golden goose. Appreciate all the info, as I will be stopping there this summer.

Hi, I'm a ts provider who travels to TJ frequently.  I have a Mexican resident visa.  I've noticed it's gotten a lot more dangerous the past couple of years.

There's another thread that talks about what might be a clean up of the force.  I haven't been down since the police dept was disarmed.

Robert Pelton, author of "The Worlds Most Dangerous Places" book called the Mexican police the most corrupt in the world.  That's something coming from a guy who hung out with the Taliban.

I have personally talked to 2 men who got jacked up down there in the past 6 months.  One on the footbridge across the TJ river, the other I forget where.  The one guy lost around $80 and a cell phone.  They hit him on the way in - which as someone else said seems to be killing the golden goose.

But look at it from the cops standpoint, he's making $35 a month patrolling a concrete cesspool with nobody around but some gringo on his way to spend money on a sex vacation in Norte.  The poor  cop can't even afford a skanky street whore and he knows the cops in Norte get paid handsome bonuses to "protect" the zone.  So why not hit the gringo first and screw those guys.  It probably doesn't even occur to him he's a criminal.

My girlfriend and I used to hang out at some of the clubs occasionally. I've even taken dates down a couple of times.  But it's not worth the hassels anymore. Especially for transsexual females.

Consider the cops legalized criminals - go down with a friend or two, don't get drunk, don't stay too late at night, take protection, and enjoy yourself.

And remember if you to to Tjiuana looking for trouble, IT will find you.  And maybe even if you don't.

Have fun,
TS Jamie

-- Modified on 2/13/2007 11:31:44 PM

Thanks for posting the info and advice. I'm sure many of the other guys here know most of the things you advise, but I'm a novice to the hobby outside of Chicago and I will be visiting this summer. Thanks again Jamie