On Monday, December 9, the Indian police detained a Czech citizen at the airport in the western Indian state of Goa because of bike navigation, the server of the Indian newspaper Deccan Herald reported. The device he was carrying is banned in the country, according to police. The man told ČTK that he had already paid the fine and was allowed to leave the country.
the 44-year-old man was briefly detained on Monday evening local time at Manohar International Airport near Mopa in North Goa district before his flight to doha, Qatar. During a security search, airport control found a Garmin Edge 540 bicycle navigation device in his luggage This type of device is prohibited in the country, according to a police spokesman.
“The accused was unable to produce any authorization issued by the relevant authorities to use this device,” said a police spokesman. A report was drawn up with the man and he was asked to give an clarification at the police station, viz under the Radio-Telegraph Act 1933, which still regulates the possession of radio-telegraph apparatus in India.
The man told ČTK that he tried to explain to the police at the airport what kind of device it was and that it was also sold in India.However, the police took him to thier station, where he spent 12 hours. He appeared again today at the police station and then signed a guilty plea in court. After paying a fine of 1,000 rupees (about 280 crowns), he was released and can leave the country. According to his statement,the police did not return the navigation device to him.
“On Monday, December 9, early in the morning, a Czech citizen who was detained at Goa airport while leaving India contacted the embassy in Delhi,” Czech Foreign Ministry spokesman daniel Drake told ČTK. According to him, the reason was Garmin’s sports cycling navigation system. According to the evening data from the Černín Palace, the honorary consul confirmed that the czech citizen was released after paying the fine and is about to fly out of India. The device was not returned to him,it remained confiscated by the police authorities in Goa. ”He can travel to the Czech Republic, he will not be detained,” Drake said.