US Tourists Face 12 Years in Prison for Accidentally Bringing Ammo to Caribbean Island
10Boston | April 22, 2024 | Leslie GaydosThe U.S. State Department is warning travelers about strict new laws in Turks and Caicos Islands that carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years for bringing guns or ammunition to the island.
An Oklahoma woman was reunited Tuesday with her young children after being detained for almost two weeks in Turks and Caicos Islands for allegedly violating their strict guns and ammunition law. Her husband is being held in the British Overseas Territory near the Bahamas.
Ryan and Valerie Watson, who live in Oklahoma, left for Turks and Caicos Islands on April 7 to celebrate the 40th birthdays of Ryan and two friends. When they went through security for their return flight [?] [He never unpacked his bag?], their carry-on was flagged and searched and officials found a Ziploc bag of bullets.
“They were hunting ammunition rounds that I use for whitetail deer,” said Ryan, “and I recognized them and I thought, oh man, what a bonehead mistake that I had no idea that those were in there.”
The two shared their story virtually with NBC10 Boston last week before their first court hearing. They were stuck on the island, their passports confiscated, separated from their young son and daughter.
“When I heard that, I immediately was terrified because I was like, we can’t both be in prison for 12 years. We have kids at home. And this is such an innocent mistake that we didn’t even know we weren’t– we didn’t even know it was there. So yeah, my immediate thought was our kids and them being, you know, parentless for, for that long,” Valerie said.
“Heh, heh, hyuck… I’m going on vacation to a remorseless foreign country. Why bother even thinking about what’s in my carry-on stuff?”
‘An honest mistake.’ Washington state senator arrested in Hong Kong for bringing gun on an airplane
KUOW / October 24, 2023 / 2:08 pm
Washington State Sen. Jeff Wilson was aboard a flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong when he reached into his briefcase for some gum. He found a gun instead.
Wilson is currently out on $2,500 bail after being arrested in Hong Kong for bringing a gun onto the flight and into the foreign region.
“It was an honest mistake, and I expect the situation to be resolved shortly,” Wilson said in a statement.
Wilson, a Republican from Longview, said he was unaware that the unloaded gun was in the briefcase he took with him while traveling. The firearm made it past security agents and screeners at the Portland airport, which has raised concerns. The senator said he became aware that the gun was with him during a flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong.
Darwin’s laws at work.
The missing lede, both managed to board flights FROM the US with items that the TSA specifically LOOKS for in security. Don’t they?
A friend went shooting with his son, then caught a late afternoon flight. He settled in his seat and noticed something was in his shirt pocket. A few live rounds. He said nothing.
TSA…worth every penny.
At least he didn’t have snakes in his luggage and they didn’t catch it.
Snakes on the plane…nobody deserves that type of stress in their life.
There’s a reason for having separate bags for the range and for travelling. My range bag(s) only go to the range and back home or to my sister’s house out in the country (she has her own range) and back home. They never go on a plane.