Well my neighbor has a boat in marine in Croatia. He goes there often by car and had no issues with his Valkera BUT he transit from CZ to Austria and Slovenia. Will ask him if he ever has problem in surrounding countries. Feel sorry for your loss but I am not that much surprised
Drone confiscated, arrested, put on trial, found guilty, never visit this country!
- Thread starter rickray
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As everyone else said- Thanks for this report & sharing. I know it will save some people at least from a similar fate.
And really sorry it happened to you.
Did they take your cameras too, or just the drone & money?
Also- have you spoken to the US embassy or State Dept. ? They need to hear this -A Lot. The more complaints they get- especially such detailed and coherent statements like yours- the more likely they will be to act. Even if it's just to issue warnings. But hopefully more.
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Thanks for the report, Rick. Very good to know and I certainly won't be going to Macedonia for any reason. Unfortunately, the same kind of thing happens in our closest neighbor, Mexico. We must keep reporting to the world what is going on. The perpetrators don't care, but when it starts to have fiscal impact on them, perhaps something will change.
Hey, Rick, when you post on youtube, please post the link so that we can all add our voices to letting the American officials know about this.
Greetings flyers. Let me bring you up to date on developments on my story. It has taken on a life of its own.
First about the US Embassy. I did contact them during the ordeal. However, they have a policy of not intervening in unfolding legal matters in the country. They recommended a list of lawyers I could call at the time. I had already seen how ineffective having a lawyer was at the border. I passed up the opportunity (fees were about $500 US).
Next, my story went public in Macedonia, possibly because of some of your efforts. I have received an outpouring of apologies from both ordinary citizens and high ranking officials. Thus far I have received person emails and sincere apologies from the director of the Ministry Of Tourism, the US Ambassador to Macedonia and the Macedonian embassy in America. I have also received a promise that an investigation will be launched from a high ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. (Doubtful)
Macedonia is having a runup to nationwide elections starting on the 27th and the country is on edge. I've been asked by two government ministers to not make my video public by YouTube and Facebook until after that time. However having seen the institutional nature of the country firsthand, I did not really think holding off from publishing this more widely will do any good. I think everyone should know and maybe corruption voted out. What do you think?
Mind you, my drones and cash have not been returned. And I assume I'll never see those again.
There does seem to be a consensus amongst people who have contacted me that this is a very isolated incident. The Bitola crossing between Greece and Macedonia is a lonely road where there have been clashes between Syrian immigrants and the police as well as a major drug smuggling route to Europe. The police that day were likely amped up. Other border crossings and the airport may be more mellow. But I can only speak about my own experience and it was very shocking.
I personally witnessed every car being shaken down that day at Bitola and I went to court with multiple other tourists, two of whom also lost their drones. Others lost clothing, electronics, sports and other equipment. No one won and no one had any possessions returned even after fines were paid.
I'm having separation anxiety from my Phantom3. We had almost 500 great flights together, when you bond with your craft and some greedy police just take it, it's like they stole your pet. My last flight were the amazing monasteries of Meteora Greece so my Phantom, named Skydog, truly went to heaven before being sold into slavery.
And yes, during a brief moment I was left alone in the interrogation room, I managed to pull the micro card and all my other cards. I was tempted to break the gimbal too, but too scared to get caught. They did not get my footage.
First about the US Embassy. I did contact them during the ordeal. However, they have a policy of not intervening in unfolding legal matters in the country. They recommended a list of lawyers I could call at the time. I had already seen how ineffective having a lawyer was at the border. I passed up the opportunity (fees were about $500 US).
Next, my story went public in Macedonia, possibly because of some of your efforts. I have received an outpouring of apologies from both ordinary citizens and high ranking officials. Thus far I have received person emails and sincere apologies from the director of the Ministry Of Tourism, the US Ambassador to Macedonia and the Macedonian embassy in America. I have also received a promise that an investigation will be launched from a high ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. (Doubtful)
Macedonia is having a runup to nationwide elections starting on the 27th and the country is on edge. I've been asked by two government ministers to not make my video public by YouTube and Facebook until after that time. However having seen the institutional nature of the country firsthand, I did not really think holding off from publishing this more widely will do any good. I think everyone should know and maybe corruption voted out. What do you think?
Mind you, my drones and cash have not been returned. And I assume I'll never see those again.
There does seem to be a consensus amongst people who have contacted me that this is a very isolated incident. The Bitola crossing between Greece and Macedonia is a lonely road where there have been clashes between Syrian immigrants and the police as well as a major drug smuggling route to Europe. The police that day were likely amped up. Other border crossings and the airport may be more mellow. But I can only speak about my own experience and it was very shocking.
I personally witnessed every car being shaken down that day at Bitola and I went to court with multiple other tourists, two of whom also lost their drones. Others lost clothing, electronics, sports and other equipment. No one won and no one had any possessions returned even after fines were paid.
I'm having separation anxiety from my Phantom3. We had almost 500 great flights together, when you bond with your craft and some greedy police just take it, it's like they stole your pet. My last flight were the amazing monasteries of Meteora Greece so my Phantom, named Skydog, truly went to heaven before being sold into slavery.
And yes, during a brief moment I was left alone in the interrogation room, I managed to pull the micro card and all my other cards. I was tempted to break the gimbal too, but too scared to get caught. They did not get my footage.
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Wow first off l I will keep publishing it to give them more pressure and only say you will stop if you get your phantom, money and compensation back. They are so selfish they want to appear good to be elected. As soon as they are elected... They will forget about you. I would personally get your local media and news channel involves to ramp up the efforts. At the very least I am sure the media will cover your story for the price of A drone as this will be a big headliner
Sent from my Power using PhantomPilots mobile app
Sent from my Power using PhantomPilots mobile app
Some of you may want to jump onto the TripAdvisor forum where I also posted. I believe one of the girlfriends of the border guards is posting incessantly about "obey our rules or stay out of our country". I'm not really even aware of what rules I broke, driving (not flying) with a drone on my way to Germany.
Macedonia customs warning - declare everything and anything! - Republic of Macedonia Forum - TripAdvisor
Macedonia customs warning - declare everything and anything! - Republic of Macedonia Forum - TripAdvisor
You never know what another country will do. I went into the Army in 1967. After basic training, I spent two months AIT in El Paso Texas. Of course we went into Mexico. It was suggested not to take your car. When you would park, a kid would come and ask if he could watch your car for 50 cents. One guy said to screw off. When he came back, car was gone. Had been towed off. He finally got his car back after getting a cab there and taking him all over the place racking up miles and saying he forgot the lot had changed locations. After the cab fare and towings charges....he should have paid the 50 cents. His bill was in excess of a few hundred dollars. I took my 66 Buick GranSport once. I paid the 50 cents to the kid. When I got back, the kid was waiting and car was safe. Don't piss them off. I only drove there once. The people down there will sell their mother, sister, and anything else they can think of. It was a GI town. Everyone was on the take for the new young guys in the military. Their house, their rules. Even in El Paso itself....the locals knew when payday was and came out from under the rocks to scam you. Girls were extra nice that week.
I understand the dangers of entering any corrupt country, but if I can prevent any other drone flyers from having their stuff confiscated, facing imprisonment, trial and a large fine from corrupt Macedonian authorities, then I certainly will. If you are suggesting I should have paid a bribe on the spot before my car was searched, there were signs everywhere saying not to do it, and it seemed way too risky to try it. Plus the search began in 10 seconds or less, as it did for most motorists.
makes me wanna rig up my p2v+ with a "custom" payload, give them a reason to hate drones. pisses me off hearing crap like that
How many of you clicked the link? No wonder the victim didn't contact the American Embassy.
I did contact the US Embassy immediately. They do not intervene in legal situations but offered a list of lawyers. As we all saw at the border, people with lawyers didn't get any further than people without.
"I did contact the US Embassy immediately. They do not intervene in legal situations but offered a list of lawyers."
A list of lawyers who are probably on the take as well.
Your story reinforces my long held belief that traveling to third world crap holes is a mugs game. Good luck with your publicity campaign rickray.
A list of lawyers who are probably on the take as well.
Your story reinforces my long held belief that traveling to third world crap holes is a mugs game. Good luck with your publicity campaign rickray.
Although I hate that you went through such an experience, I do thank you so much for sharing. Very well put together. It does seem to me that the US Embassy could do something.
Theoretically - you could contact your embassy and report the incident. If you have not broken any laws or created any form of illegal actions( according to the host country's laws or aviation regulations ) you can ask for your goods or their value to be returned to you. As we all know " theory" is fine - but seldom works out.
France used to ( and still do I think ) make fortune for the traffic police - who would stop and search any tourists car ( numbers plates and country stickers) and even hire cars - and issue on the spot fines. Drones are the new bent cop cash cow.
I did receive a personal email from the US Ambassador to Macedonia apologizing for the incident and promising to look into it further. This video goes public tomorrow.
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I drove in France many times before coming to live here over nine years ago. The only checks I have had was one roadside breath check and one roadside docs check. I've had two for speeding, one roadside and one speed camera - both sent to my home address. On the spot fines are for those with no address in France so that they can get your money otherwise you could just run. They can't get you with foreign plates because they have no way of finding you. If you have a hire car and get flashed - the fine will be taken from your credit card via the hire company. Never had a car search here.
Back to the Mac story. It won't be on my bucket list. Learn the hard way, warn others and move on. Appreciate the share.
