Bringing External Harddisk (HDD) - Personal PC - checking and probling

Hi,
You can bring it and they will not bother you to scan your Ext. HDD.

Manny Pacman wrote:

Hi,
You can bring it and they will not bother you to scan your Ext. HDD.

A rather encouraging reply.

Is it too good to be true.

I have read stories on the forums on the internet which tell a different experience otherwise.

Anyone else care to comment please.

Try to share a story or link on this forum which says that External Hard discs have been scanned.

Anyways you already have got the correct answer from Manny !!

Cheers

If you stack the Ext. HDDs in ur Luggage, except for the Laptop, hopefully there wouldn't be a problem after Immigration.

This thread is sooo 2005, used to happen way back, but not anymore

if you're worried about your porn stash just hide the files or encrypt them or remove the extensions

sheesh...noobs

Dear

I travelled alot from/to KSA in last 6 years. And i always carry my portable HD, laptop, memory card. They never bothered to stop me for checking the listed devices.
I also heard these stories that they check the hard drive stuff for ilegal material but never experinced such things by myself.

My cousins and friends in Riyadh, working for 5 years now, told me that the officer on the scanner section just asked them what's inside the external HDD because the hard drive was detected in the scan. They just told the officer that it's all collection of movies and pictures of families and close friends. The officer then asked again if there is any porn material. My cousin replied, "there isn't any". So that's it, just verbal inspection, no further scrutiny.

Engr.Edneil wrote:

My cousins and friends in Riyadh, working for 5 years now, told me that the officer on the scanner section just asked them what's inside the external HDD because the hard drive was detected in the scan. They just told the officer that it's all collection of movies and pictures of families and close friends. The officer then asked again if there is any porn material. My cousin replied, "there isn't any". So that's it, just verbal inspection, no further scrutiny.

TBH the verbal question can become a physical inspection, you never know security and customs around the world.

In Jordan, my mobile phone was taken away by the officials and asked to unlock it, I had to comply.
in Saudi, I was taken inside and asked how much money, gold etc I had on me.

So, don't mean to scare OP, but that's the reality of it. 99% of the time you fly through, but there is always that 1 % and i'm sure you don't wanna be in that 1%

I have been travelling since 2003. Being an IT Professional, from back then I used have a lot of cds and floppy discs with me as I needed softwares, personal data, etc. Way back then Internet speeds and storage was not big and don't remember External HDDs to be around. I was having from 40 to 60 cds and floppies on each of first 3 visits and every time they took all those stuff for inspection, giving me a receipt to collect after 2-3 days. The storage room was having a lot of cabinets with piles of media storage. Never got an issue and received them back in time.

However, I believe since 2006 I started using External HDDs for storage and from 2007, I am always travelling with a laptop, several External HDDs in the same laptop bag plus a few random cds. Never checked or even inquired. The most I was asked was whats your profession. Nothing else.

Thanks a lot to everyone who shared his/her views and opinions and responded.

Can you please also have a look at my following other two queries , would be great to know all I can before coming over :

1. https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 9#p2718709
2. https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 80#2718541

Thanks.

I too am soon coming to KSA, and have two laptops and two ExHD. Nothing inappropriate on any of them, but I'm worried about how much trouble I'll have to go through. All advice gratefully accepted.

Just make sure there are no prohibited materials on your HD, there are random checks being done. We have a new comer in the office who has brought unknowingly porn in his HD, he was caught in the random check, had his HD confiscated and our office was fined for 500SAR

My own disturbing experience is not about portable disks but CDs. It was in 2009 when I was travelling to Riyadh with my family. Having seen the CD's which includes softwares, family pictures, some best movie selection, but nothing illigal or undesired for Saudis, the officer called another high level person. That person kept me inside with my poor Arabic communication skills for just 5 minutes. I intent to sit down and he told me who allowed me to sit?
Anyway, he asked me about CDs and if they include anything forbidden and I tried to say, he can check if he wants and show him the labels of the CDs (luckly I  labeled them)
Funny thing, I have my laptop and external hard drive but they have not been spotted or asked..