Paying off the Police for the First Time, and certainly won't be the Last
I usually don't hang around Parque Lleras unless I want to see lots of gringos and pay tourist prices for everything from girls to guaro. But it was a Monday night and I was drinking it up with one of my regulars at a bar in Envigado. The place was closing at midnight and we wanted to keep partying. All other bars nearby were shutting down as well, so off we go to gringoland. Lleras is a good backup plan for late night food, parties, and girls on a slow weekday, albeit a more expensive one. I was surprised there were places that were open till 4 am and some even charged cover. We hit up a no cover club and drank and danced for an hour, nursing our 20 mil coronas because they "ran out" of domestic beers.
Around 2 am, I use inDriver, a ride-sharing app (cheaper than Uber) to get back to my Envigado apt. I'm walking with my girl down calle 10 and make a left on the street where club Babylon is located, within seconds a police bike with 2 officers roll up on me. They ask me questions, one checks the cedula of my girl and the other one body searches me. I can see he's just looking for anything illegal on me and doesn't even ask for my ID. This is the first time I've ever been stopped and searched by police in Colombia in over 7 years coming here. I always carry some white powder on me and sometimes tussi. He's looking through all the corners and crevices of my wallet and finally strikes gold and sees my baggie. He tells me I'm going to jail for this and proceeds to lecture me. I listen for a minute and tell him let's work something out. Said I had 100 mil, then he counters with 200 mil. That fucker already looked through my wallet and had an idea how much money was in it. I said 150 mil, and he took it. Then I kindly asked for my baggie back. That mofo gave back my stash and then took off with his buddy cop, no doubt looking for their next victims.
The whole confrontation lasted less than 5 minutes. We were in a small and empty street corner so no one really saw what was happening. I doubt they would've done that in a crowded area or right on the park. We get to the car and my girl asked me how much I gave, I said 150 mil. She said, 50 mil woulda been enough LOL. Even the driver said my 100 mil offer was more than enough. Well, 150 mil is better than a Colombian jail cell haha. Lesson learned, not going to Lleras or anywhere touristy with any baggies, but if I do, going to hide it in my sock LOL.
Much better to hang out in la 45 in Manrique where you can huff, puff, and snort at the clubs like everyone else and you won't see any gringos within a 10 mile radius. I suggest clubs Praga or Zenith for anyone interested, but make sure you go with a girl you know. Interesting how some locals stay away from Manrique due to perceived danger and its lower estrata. Now I can tell them I feel safer there than in Lleras because at least I won't get shaken down by corrupt cops.