Firearms inside your vehicle (even with a permit to carry issued by the sheriff), marijuana or drugs for personal use, money or checks for more than $30,000 dollars or entry of merchandise of $30,000 dollars or more without paying the taxes established by the Mexican laws.

These are the most common problems that American citizens face when entering Tijuana land customs, since these entries are crimes and sometimes serious crimes with high prison sentences.

We have created this guide, creating an action protocol and steps to follow to achieve the freedom of people arrested for these crimes.

Preventive actions

1.Return to the United States before entering customs (Prevents arrest)

It is the safest option to avoid having a legal problem in Mexico. If when entering Mexico through Tijuana you remember that you have a firearm, drugs or money or values ​​greater than $30,000 dollars, it is time to return to the United States again. United to remove these objects from your vehicle.

Currently, the Mexican Government has designated military personnel (National Guard) for the purposes of guarding the entry of people into Mexico, which is why there are currently greater searches of the vehicles of American citizens, since experience has shown them that on many occasions they have weapons or drugs in their possession, so we recommend that you do not trust yourself to think that these objects will not be found.

2. Enter the self-declaration lane if you remembered that you have the aforementioned objects or amounts with you

Self-declaration is a spontaneous reaction that can be used if you are already waiting in line to enter Mexico and remember that you have any of these objects with you.

This action will help you not to be arrested, precisely because the self-declaration has the purpose, on the one hand, of explaining the reasons why you carry with you a weapon, drugs or even money or goods that have to pay taxes, so The Mexican customs authority will explain the legal process to follow in order to avoid having legal problems in Mexico.

This is so every time that the Mexican Government seeks to avoid bringing weapons or drugs into Mexico precisely to take care of national public security and public health, which is why by making this declaration and pointing out to the authority that the entry was an oversight of these objects will show that it is not a criminal act.

Likewise, for those who bring in $30,000 dollars in cash or more, as well as those who bring in more than $13,000 in merchandise that has to pay taxes, self-declaration will cause the taxes required by law to be paid but will prevent you from being paid. accused of smuggling.

Reactive actions (What to do if arrested)

1.Go to the prosecutor’s offices (FGR) in Tijuana located at Blvd. Gral. Abelardo L. Rodríguez 2930, Zona Urbana Rio Tijuana, where they will send the arrested person for the first 48 hours of his or her detention.

When a person is arrested for a crime in Mexico, the first 48 hours will be sent to the offices of the public ministry, this since the law establishes this time so that the prosecutor can collect evidence and present it after that time in front of the judge. for the purposes of charging charges for carrying illegal weapons, possessing illegal drugs or contraband, to name the most common.

It is important to go immediately to the public prosecutor’s offices for the purposes of hiring a lawyer so that they can immediately propose solutions to your case. We recommend that you follow the following tips to choose your lawyer.

1. Search on Google: You can search for criminal lawyers in Tijuana on Google, our  justicia transparente firm has the best record of cases won with American citizens.
2. Call the United States consulate in Tijuana: The consulate has a list of lawyers who can help you with your case, ask for  justicia transparente or the lawyer German Jalil Terriquez Cordova who is the owner of the firm, remember that the list of lawyers is organized by the alphabetical order of the lawyers, so  justicia transparente will be found at the bottom of the list.

The fact that people arrested in Tijuana do not have a home or address in Tijuana is a legal problem that has the legal consequence of being sent to prison after 48 hours. In justicia transparente we have solid legal strategies which will help to justify before the judge an address of the arrested person.

In the event that the person has been arrested for carrying firearms in his vehicle and bringing them into Mexico, it must subsequently be analyzed whether the weapon is for the exclusive use of the Mexican army or not, army weapons are considered serious crimes and contemplate penalties, serious, in this article you will be able to verify the penalties for the different types of weapons, contact  justicia transparente so that it can provide you with legal representation with our bilingual lawyers.

2.If the arrested person was not the driver of the vehicle, contact us immediately and we can release it within the first 48 hours.

The criminal law does not have severe punishments for the co-pilot or passengers of a vehicle, this is the case whenever it is difficult for the prosecutor to prove before the judge that they were the possessors or owners of the drug, the weapon or the merchandise.

However, the defense of a lawyer specialized in criminal matters is necessary to point out the legal arguments for the purposes of achieving his release.

3.If the arrested person was imprisoned by order of the judge (3 days after his arrest) we can help you release him

After the first 48 hours of arrest of a person at customs, the person will most likely be sent to the judge in court for an oral hearing, so at that hearing it is possible for the judge to order the person to remain in prison for consideration. that if the arrested person is released he will no longer return to the appointments made by the judge to appear in court (since Mexican law establishes this rule for people who do not live in Tijuana)

However, for these cases there is good news, human rights in Mexico allow the arrested person to obtain his freedom or even obtain legal benefits that allow him to carry out his process in freedom, these motions before the judge are difficult to argue, justicia transparente It is the only firm in Tijuana that has managed to free people in this situation, contact us.