My Drone Confiscated at Nicaragua Customs...WTF

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My Drone Confiscated at Nicaragua Customs. Does anyone know the procedure to get it back? I'm going to the bureau of aviation tomorrow for a permit....but i'm not too confident that Ill get one. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
-mG

www.sdsurfdrone.com
 
mikegentile said:
i'll find out tomorrow. i think i'll at least get it when i leave....fingers crossed!!! send some drone love!!
-mG

http://www.sdsurfdrone.com


Did they give you a receipt or something?
 
Yeah. I have a receipt. Apparently we needed permission from the head of aviation here. We needed a letter to him stating who we were and what we were going to do with it. Did all that today, hopefully we'll get it signed and free by tomorrow.
 
mikegentile said:
Yeah. I have a receipt. Apparently we needed permission from the head of aviation here. We needed a letter to him stating who we were and what we were going to do with it. Did all that today, hopefully we'll get it signed and free by tomorrow.

Just come to Costa Rica, no such crazy **** over here. :lol:
 
So it's official...no drones in Nicaragua. I'll get it when I leave the country, after having to pay to keep it stored in customs. :(
 
mikegentile said:
So it's official...no drones in Nicaragua. I'll get it when I leave the country, after having to pay to keep it stored in customs. :(

Sigh... storage fees? Nice. :evil:
 
mikegentile said:
Yep storage fees


I am boycotting Nicaragua based on this.... that is... until I can think of a reason why I'd want to go there :) LOL

Glad to hear you're getting it back though!
 
You forgot to include the customs "fee" (i.e. cash donation in your drone carry box). It makes border crossing go much smoother.
 
Yikes, this is good to know.

Unfortunately you can't just expect to go to another country without learning their laws or rules and abiding by them. Do your due diligence.

Hope the storage fee does not cost too much!
 
Yeah I knew it was a little bit of a risk. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything to the contrary. Storage fees....$2.50 a day.
 
I'm not gonna hi-jack this thread to ask about research on other country's drone laws, but will start a new thread asking what folks know instead.
 
That's a good idea. There should be a central place for us to look before traveling. I have a 5hr layover in Panama Wednesday and would love to leave the airport with it....but now I'm not sure
 
To All, I just (february 2016) returned from a trip to Nicaragua with my Phantom 3P. Drones are still NOT allowed in Nicaragua! By no means. Even though nothing is posted anywhere on-line (besides this one thread) about drone rules or regulations in Nicaragua, there is no sense in bringing your Phantom and trying to get it cleared at customs... All your luggage (hold and carry-on) is X-ray scanned BEFORE leaving the airport in Managua, and of course the shape of the Phantom stands out clearly, after which confiscation is inevitable.

Yes you can get it back upon leaving the country, after having handed in your receipt of confiscation, a copy of your passport and of your tourist visum (don't forget!) and of course the storage fee of 3 US$ per day in storage (cash, in Nicaragua Cordoba's). You can get it back when you return to the airport to leave the country again, after having checked in, by going to the customs office (an unmarked white door in-between two rental car desks), with the required paper work, going through the passes and paying the fees. An armed guard will take you and your phantom straight to security to go to your gate, so you cannot 'sneak' out the airport with your Phantom. So don't even try. And stay polite and respectful to all customs officers. That helps.

NOTE: CUSTOMS OFFICE HOURS ARE MO-FRI 0800-1600!!!! if your flight leaves Saturday or Sunday, make sure you pay your storage fees during the MO-FRI office hours!!!! and hope that a customs officer will go get your phantom from storage for you upon showing your boarding card and payment slip on your (SA-SU) day of departure.

Maybe having your Phantom confiscated and stored at the airport at customs is a good thing. I would not want to find out the consequences of being arrested while flying one in Nicaragua. Really - not. Officials hate/despise drones because they wreak of espionage, apparently. And I was there to get aerial shots of a new neighborhood for the poor build with international aid money, to record the huge positive succes which was attained with this cooperative project.
 
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