Picked up my buddy the this week, with a doz Krispy Kremes, 6 in each of two boxes. We can't drink and drive but a few donuts are permitted and give you the same wonderful feeling as an ice cold beer. He informed me that NOW, you play Green Light, Red Light and only if you get the Red light do they scan your bags. This will be a huge speed up to the getting out of the airport process. Yippee
I came in 2 weeks ago and all bags were scanned, they were hand checked only if you got the red light. Maybe it's changed since then.
Arrived last Thursday and there were no lines at customs: they simply looked at our declaration, had us push the button, and waved us through without an exray, as they were doing others, that day. Only the red light produced even a baggage scan. This made it much like going through customs in most developed countries, with their "green lines". The story was equally good at immigration, where every line was open- with perhaps forty or more agents working- and no waiting. We've never seen it this good....
Maybe it's changed, but we got a green light and were still searched because they saw "something" in the x ray that they wanted to check. We got the biggest, most pompous asshole that ever lived searching us. He dragged every damned thing out of our bags and gave us the 20 minute version of why he was doing this. He asked for passports, even though it has nothing to do with aduana. Then, he said we had to pay 4000 pesos for two old hard drives I was bringing back. I told him he could keep them, but he said it wasn't an option. I told him I have no credit cards and hardly any cash, so, he made me take out my wallet and all the money in it. THEN, he said how dare I come to his country with so little money. He went and got his supervisor and he was an even bigger asshole. He asked me, What if I showed up in your country with so little money"? I knew better than to give him the answer he deserved. This was a few months ago, so, maybe the two assholes got transferred, or , hopefully, fired.
So tempting! Chatting to a few folks who recently came through the airport and it may be that terminal 2 scan all bags but terminal 3 dont (I always arrive via 2). Would be kind of silly if that were the case but hey ho, comes with the territory.
What happened to you sounds like a "shake down" to me, and probably would to others. Have you considered filing a report to the person who deals with corruption in that dept? (There are signs everywhere, advising how to contact them.) Without looking it up, the 4,000 pesos sounds way over any amount that would be a legitimate customs duty. What'd those things cost new, anyway?
Well, it sure seemed like a shakedown, but he brought his supervisor and he shook even harder. The drives cost about a hundred each. They did negotiate the fine down to about 2800 pesos, just about what i was carrying. They did, however, give me a receipt, so, maybe they were just fulfilling a quota. I'm not going to go through some horrible drawn out process to get my money back. Ain't worth it, especially when nothing will probably be resolved at the end. I've been through Mexico's legal process before and it's been a total waste of time. I got a lawyer once, and he robbed me of $12,000 Mxn and was nowhere to be found. He was recommended by staff at the hospital where I was. I guess I was had by a scam. I received a package with two cell phones from China a while back and was taxed 100%. The post office can't do anything about it, so I drove to Aduana hq near the airport. They had some guy at the gate that doesn't let anyone in. He picks up the phone and calls someone inside. They told me I had to go to the entry point, Mexico City, to argue it. I'm fluent in Spanish, so there was no communication problem.
That is really awesome that they're speeding up the process in Cancun. In Cozumel is a pain to pass through customs. I don't even go pick up My partner at half hour after the arrival time, last time I went with 1 hour after the arrival time and he was still in line. Cozumel airport can get really messy!
$4,000 pesos in duties would equate to $25,000 Mxn in non-exempt goods. Guys and gals, I might suggest making a list of items you acknowledge are subject to duties, less the $300 PER PERSON US duty free exemption. I do this on my iPad and pull it out if it seems like the thing to do. You can put fair mkt value for used things without a receipt. It was necessary for me to do this a couple of months ago. I never bring stuff in new packaging. I argue about stupid stuff, asserting that it for my personal use. Best to have something to let them win on so the bigger stuff can get overlooked. I let them Winona Victoria Secret stuff and got all kinds of questionable things without problem. With the list I start pulling out the things on it, create a pile and then"que mas?" and I am usually out the door. I did have to pay $402, but got my receipt. They would not let me slide on the $2.
