A Canadian path runner was detained on Dec. 6 at Dabolim Worldwide Airport in Goa, India, for travelling with a satellite tv for pc GPS machine. Tina Lewis of Montreal was discovered with a Garmin inReach Mini, a tool usually mistaken for a satellite tv for pc telephone, which is illegitimate in India.
In accordance with the path operating web site IRunFar, it took Lewis six days to get her passport again because of the violation and 1000’s of Canadian {dollars}. Lewis was travelling between Goa and Kochi when she was detained throughout a routine baggage test on the airport. India’s Central Industrial Safety Drive (CISF) detected the Garmin inReach Mini in her carry-on throughout a routine scan. When questioned, she didn’t have permission from authorities to hold the machine. Because of this, safety personnel seized the machine and handed her over to the native police.
Tina Lewis was arrested in India for touring with a GPS machine. Possession of a satellite tv for pc telephone is illegitimate there, and GPS units are sometimes confused for them.
We want Tina the very best. https://t.co/BgmJCJMAL8
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) December 16, 2024
The 51-year-old who gained the Leadville 100 miler in 2012 had been solo travelling India for 2 months and had reportedly travelled to Goa, a coastal state in Western India to expertise the seashores.
The Garmin inReach Mini machine in her carry-on bag was mistaken for a satellite tv for pc transmitter, which is illegitimate in India beneath Part 6 (1A) of the Indian Wi-fi Telegraphy Act 1933 and Part 20 of the Indian Telegraph Act 1885. These sections cope with the unauthorized possession and operation of wi-fi transmitters and telegraphs, punishable by as much as three years imprisonment, a high-quality, or typically each.
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A Garmin inReach is a distant satellite tv for pc communicator designed for excessive outside adventurers. The machine permits them to ship and obtain messages by way of the Iridium satellite tv for pc community in distant areas with out cell protection. Lewis instructed IRunFar, she had the machine for security throughout tenting and trekking solo, enabling her to test in with household on her whereabouts.
Lewis selected to not contain the Canadian embassy to keep away from delays. As a substitute, she relied on a good friend who discovered her a lawyer to help her.
“I used to be detained on the police station, being questioned and actually about to go to the hospital for a medical examination earlier than jail when my good friend’s lawyer confirmed up,” she stated. Lewis spent a number of days in Indian court docket preventing the costs, leading to 1000’s of {dollars} in authorized charges and a six-day journey to get her Canadian passport in her possession.
Lewis wrote in regards to the expertise on her social media web page, calling for a change to the outdated legal guidelines. Worldwide vacationers are reportedly detained every single day in India for carrying satellite tv for pc units. A Czech bike owner was detained three days later on the identical airport for carrying a Garmin Edge 540 GPS bike laptop.