Ok, here go some of my stories!
First, I'm clean cut. Regular hair cut with no facial hair, no earrings or other jewelry, not even a watch, no tattoos, no baggy clothes, don't smoke or use drugs, etc. I usually leave for my flight right from the office, so I'm usually wearing business attire (slacks, button down shirt) when I travel, and most times I only have carry-on luggage.
When I'm coming into DR I usually get stopped and questioned about how much money I'm bringing into the country and I've been to the "office" on several occassions. It has gotten so predictable, that If I'm traveling with other people I tell them beforehand to just pretend that they don't know me and that we'll meet up by customs or outside.
When leaving, I'm usually questioned and patted down.
I don't really mind any of this stuff, because I know that these guys are doing their job and they do catch a few people every week trying to bring in or take drugs out of DR. I know most of the DNCD agents by name now, so if I don't want to deal with the hassle because I get stopped by someone who hasn't seen me before, I just ask them to call one of the people who already know me, and then I'm let go with an apology and an offer for their help anytime that I'm traveling through again. They do shift these guys around periodically, so every few months there's a new batch of agents, but they always know the people who were there before them.
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