I never heard of this before, be aware some countries don't allow Gps. The probably just wanted to milk her for some money.
Tina Lewis avoided jail but spent six days in court and thousands of dollars after authorities found a Garmin inReach Mini in her bags.
About two months into what had been a rewarding “personal journey” in India, and after travelling through nearly a dozen airports, Canadian Tina Lewis was detained and almost sent to jail in the country’s Goa province after authorities there questioned a GPS device they found in her luggage.
Lewis, a 51-year-old telemedicine nurse practitioner and wanderlust-fuelled ultra-marathon runner, was going through security at Dabolim International Airport ahead of a flight to Kerala on Dec. 5.
She was unaware the Garmin inReach Mini in her bag was prohibited under law.
When discovered, Central Industrial Security Force officers at the naval base airport handed her over to local police who explained such devices aren’t permitted under a statute originally written in 1933, a quarter-century before mankind launched its first rudimentary satellites.
Thankfully, Lewis avoided time behind bars, but she would spend the next six days and several thousand dollars tied up in the court system trying to get her passport back and resume her journey.
“I brought it all over the world with me and I use it, I have it on me all the time because I mountaineer and I do a lot of pretty technical, dangerous stuff in the mountains, sometimes solo,” Lewis told the National Post in a recounting of her cautionary tale.
Multiple countries have bans or restrictions on satellite communication devices
Lewis thought it was business as usual when she unpacked her bag of electronics for inspection at Dabolim that Thursday night.
A CISF officer immediately pulled her aside where she explained, as she’d recently done at an airport in Kashmir, that it wasn’t a satellite phone, but a GPS device used only to keep loved ones apprised of her location and safety when out of cell service.
Garmin says the device is connected to the subscription-based Iridium satellite network and enables two-way text messaging using a connected mobile device and access to an around-the-clock SOS search and rescue monitoring centre, among other simpler GPS services like weather and maps.
A fine print disclaimer notes some counties “prohibit the use of satellite communication devices.”
“It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used,” Garmin writes.
India is joined by the likes of China, Russia, Pakistan and a handful of other countries with varying restrictions to outright bans, per Global Rescue.
The first officer escalated the matter to his superior, who Lewis said was “really upset” and proceeded to order a trio of female guards to watch over her while she waited over an hour for him to return. He did so with a group of armed men and told Lewis the matter was now in the hands of local police.
nationalpost.com
Tina Lewis avoided jail but spent six days in court and thousands of dollars after authorities found a Garmin inReach Mini in her bags.
About two months into what had been a rewarding “personal journey” in India, and after travelling through nearly a dozen airports, Canadian Tina Lewis was detained and almost sent to jail in the country’s Goa province after authorities there questioned a GPS device they found in her luggage.
Lewis, a 51-year-old telemedicine nurse practitioner and wanderlust-fuelled ultra-marathon runner, was going through security at Dabolim International Airport ahead of a flight to Kerala on Dec. 5.
She was unaware the Garmin inReach Mini in her bag was prohibited under law.
When discovered, Central Industrial Security Force officers at the naval base airport handed her over to local police who explained such devices aren’t permitted under a statute originally written in 1933, a quarter-century before mankind launched its first rudimentary satellites.
Thankfully, Lewis avoided time behind bars, but she would spend the next six days and several thousand dollars tied up in the court system trying to get her passport back and resume her journey.
“I brought it all over the world with me and I use it, I have it on me all the time because I mountaineer and I do a lot of pretty technical, dangerous stuff in the mountains, sometimes solo,” Lewis told the National Post in a recounting of her cautionary tale.
Multiple countries have bans or restrictions on satellite communication devices
Lewis thought it was business as usual when she unpacked her bag of electronics for inspection at Dabolim that Thursday night.
A CISF officer immediately pulled her aside where she explained, as she’d recently done at an airport in Kashmir, that it wasn’t a satellite phone, but a GPS device used only to keep loved ones apprised of her location and safety when out of cell service.
Garmin says the device is connected to the subscription-based Iridium satellite network and enables two-way text messaging using a connected mobile device and access to an around-the-clock SOS search and rescue monitoring centre, among other simpler GPS services like weather and maps.
A fine print disclaimer notes some counties “prohibit the use of satellite communication devices.”
“It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used,” Garmin writes.
India is joined by the likes of China, Russia, Pakistan and a handful of other countries with varying restrictions to outright bans, per Global Rescue.
The first officer escalated the matter to his superior, who Lewis said was “really upset” and proceeded to order a trio of female guards to watch over her while she waited over an hour for him to return. He did so with a group of armed men and told Lewis the matter was now in the hands of local police.
Canadian woman arrested in India for flying with GPS was treated 'like a fugitive'
A Canadian-born women exploring India solo was arrested and fined after airport officials found a banned GPS device in her bags.
nationalpost.com
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