DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Not such a great trip this time thanks to the policia nacional!

**Roker** · 07-22-2012, 05:23 PM

Well, back from another trip to the DR . This time was not as before, this time I came up against the ugly side of the Policia Nacional.. in La Urena.. travelling with a friend in his nice car at 5 30pm after late lunch, on the main Las Americas highway , we are flagged down, rudely, to stop. In the middle of traffic. in the middle of multitudes of people. They come straight to my passenger side and tell me to get out and they were loud and impatient. My driver, a tour guide who works in Punta Cana but lives in that part of town, starts reaching for his licence and they tell him to get out. Outside, they rifle the car with flashlights, even demanding to know what was in my sunscreen. Then demand I empty my pockets, which were full of cash... maybe 8000 pesos , my wallet and camera. Their eyes bulged. They did not say what they wanted. My friend showed them all the right paperwork, but they got harsher and harsher. Then , and I dont know what happened, but my friend showed them a letter . They immediately backed off and said we can go. I was trembling I am not ashamed to say. Not because I had done anything wrong, but because I didn t understand the language fully, and it looked serious.... I have never met with this before in the 7 years I have been repeatedly travelling to Santo Domingo and La Caleta. I have come across cops who stop the moto and ask for a few pesos, but nothing ever as scary as this. I even buy cops beers and maybe a sandwich when I see them in la caleta. They never bother me. These guys were awful. I could hear them talking to my friend about " the gringo" . I am not made of glass but this was not part of my dream vacation package.I thought I was going to jail for nothing and was going to lose all my money. All these years I have been walking around the DR thinking I were immune and these things only happen to Dominicans there. I have told people here in the States whio have been scared of travelling in the DR that the police there dont harass tourists. They know better. Well now I know that is not true and it was a very rude awakening for me to come to terms with this. Maybe it s as well In find out now before I move there. I still love the DR and the people and a few bent cops are not going to ruin it for me, but I will always from now on be aware of what is going on and will never carry more than 2000 pesos with me in future.
Just putting this out there for all those who maybe were on cloud nine like I used to be, believing the DR to be a perfect paradise for the likes of me....ah well,. readjusting my dreams...

Tourists are prey for all police agencies.

07-22-2012, 05:23 PM	#24
Roker Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 497 Senior Member	Well, back from another trip to the DR . This time was not as before, this time I came up against the ugly side of the Policia Nacional.. in La Urena.. travelling with a friend in his nice car at 5 30pm after late lunch, on the main Las Americas highway , we are flagged down, rudely, to stop. In the middle of traffic. in the middle of multitudes of people. They come straight to my passenger side and tell me to get out and they were loud and impatient. My driver, a tour guide who works in Punta Cana but lives in that part of town, starts reaching for his licence and they tell him to get out. Outside, they rifle the car with flashlights, even demanding to know what was in my sunscreen. Then demand I empty my pockets, which were full of cash... maybe 8000 pesos , my wallet and camera. Their eyes bulged. They did not say what they wanted. My friend showed them all the right paperwork, but they got harsher and harsher. Then , and I dont know what happened, but my friend showed them a letter . They immediately backed off and said we can go. I was trembling I am not ashamed to say. Not because I had done anything wrong, but because I didn t understand the language fully, and it looked serious.... I have never met with this before in the 7 years I have been repeatedly travelling to Santo Domingo and La Caleta. I have come across cops who stop the moto and ask for a few pesos, but nothing ever as scary as this. I even buy cops beers and maybe a sandwich when I see them in la caleta. They never bother me. These guys were awful. I could hear them talking to my friend about " the gringo" . I am not made of glass but this was not part of my dream vacation package.I thought I was going to jail for nothing and was going to lose all my money. All these years I have been walking around the DR thinking I were immune and these things only happen to Dominicans there. I have told people here in the States whio have been scared of travelling in the DR that the police there dont harass tourists. They know better. Well now I know that is not true and it was a very rude awakening for me to come to terms with this. Maybe it s as well In find out now before I move there. I still love the DR and the people and a few bent cops are not going to ruin it for me, but I will always from now on be aware of what is going on and will never carry more than 2000 pesos with me in future. Just putting this out there for all those who maybe were on cloud nine like I used to be, believing the DR to be a perfect paradise for the likes of me....ah well,. readjusting my dreams... Tourists are prey for all police agencies.
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