5 U.S. Tourists Who Had Bullets Face Mandatory 12 Year Sentences in Turks & Caicos

Jules said:
Is it illegal to carry bullets in your luggage in the US? If not, the TSA doesn’t know where you’re going.
Click to expand...
You have to declare to the airline your are flying on that you have ammunition. It can only be transported in your checked baggage & in a box/container made for the ammunition. The amount your allowed apparently is up to the airline your flying on.

Jules said:
I have to admit security has sometimes checked my luggage for what they thought were strange things.
Click to expand...
I remember when we flew to Germany in the 90's, that my can of hair spray managed to get my carry-on inspected each time it I went through x-ray. When we were ready to go home, I pitched the can. It didn't matter because the lead crystal candy dish that my husband's aunt gave us was put in our carry-on so it wouldn't get broken & it was flagged the same way.

My friend told me that I had a good piece of crystal. She said really nice crystal will show up on an x-ray as a solid mass.
 

Rakaia said:
I know of a Kiwi gun shop owner who did a significant stretch of time in the USA for taking ammunition on an aircraft Stateside, he didn't know either.
Click to expand...
OK I fact checked my post.
David Tipple (Gun City, NZ) got into trouble for various reasons, including not giving the airline written notice that he had guns and ammunition in his luggage.
 
I will tell everyone reading this one thing is for certain, No one wants to end up in a Turkish prison. It is probably the second worse place to end up, Hell being number one.
 
@Jules, it's funny what will get flagged & what won't.

I decided the next time I have to fly anywhere that I'm going to just do carry-on. When we went to Germany, all of our luggage was lost going over & it finally showed up on day 3. OMG, if I hadn't put some underwear, toiletries & important paperwork in our carry-on I don't know what we would have done. It was October & I left my heavy coat in checked & only had a sweater to wear & I was freezing outside.
 
@Lilac, for myself, I only travel with carry-on. I also checked a big bag on my last trip back to see my DDs, because I wanted to take them a bunch of things. I did put a Tile in it for tracking. When we went to Europe for almost a month, we travelled with carry-on. For my ’purse’ I use an Eddie Bauer packback that squishes under even the tightest seat. It has my meds, iPad and real, small purse.
 
Surely all it needs is for your President to pick up the phone and ring King Charles - have a wee chat about things and ask him to squash things down a bit?
 
This thread brings back memories of trips taken years ago. In the seventies we took a fly drive holiday to NZ with our two children and Hubby's parents. I carried a bag that contained everything we needed to have picnic lunches at roadside parks. It contained a carving knife and a bread knife, a bread board, a thermos as well as the necessary cutlery, plates and cups.

It was my carry on luggage but I always alerted the stewards of the fact that I was carrying knives, giving them the opportunity to store it safely for the duration of the flight. We did the same for our fly drive holiday in US in the eighties.

I doubt that this would be allowed on any aeroplane today.
 
Teacher Terry said:
I wondered too if they were planted. I wouldn’t go to any country that does this. I don’t own a gun or bullets but would error on the side of caution.
Click to expand...

All you've go to do is know where you're going and research. The entire world isn't the US, different rules in different places. I was once offered a job in Kuwait, but after some research, my wife told me she wanted a divorce if I accepted. :D

Goodness knows why bullets were in the baggage. It's easy to jump to the defensive, but sometimes things are just as they seem.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I'm sorry, but what jackass packs ammunition to visit another country?
Click to expand...
I'm sure they didn't "pack" the bullets FB...they forgot to remove them from their carry ons, which they probably took on their hunting trips or whatever. Each said they did not realize the bullets were there. The woman said they had fallen under the flap, where I know things can easily "hide". They were unwise not to check thoroughly and what would have been even better is not to have used the same bags their ammunition had been in.

@VaughanJB Your wife may have saved your life. :) You're right...sometimes Americans forget that the rest of the world isn't like us and that we aren't the center of the universe.

I saw on the news today that one of the detainees was released and is now back with his family. I guess this means there's hope for the others.
 
Last edited:
OneEyedDiva said:
@VaughanJB Your wife may have saved your life. :) You're right...sometimes Americans forget that the rest of the world isn't like us and that we aren't the center of the universe.
Click to expand...

I recall when I went to live and work in Germany. I had to hire someone to do all the registrations and paperwork! Good grief, you have to register at the local government office, for example. It was a long long, and complicated process. I also worked in Mumbai for 6 months or so, and the wait time for Visa's to enter and work for monstrously long.
 
VaughanJB said:
All you've go to do is know where you're going and research. The entire world isn't the US, different rules in different places. I was once offered a job in Kuwait, but after some research, my wife told me she wanted a divorce if I accepted. :D

Goodness knows why bullets were in the baggage. It's easy to jump to the defensive, but sometimes things are just as they seem.
Click to expand...
Smart woman!
 
In our days when you can access complete information about the do's and don'ts of any country you plan to visit there really isn't a reason to complain when you get busted like these folks. We used to say, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
 
Born_To_Lose said:
I will tell everyone reading this one thing is for certain, No one wants to end up in a Turkish prison. It is probably the second worse place to end up, Hell being number one.
Click to expand...
Good God. Turks and Caycos, is an ISLAND in the Caribbean. Flunked geography much ? JimB.
 

Turks and Caicos Islands - Wikipedia​


The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies.

can we keep the geographical constructs tightened up a little?
 
jimintoronto said:
Good God. Turks and Caycos, is an ISLAND in the Caribbean. Flunked geography much ? JimB.
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, if that's even possible, when I saw the island of Turks mentioned, it reminded me when I was in Turkey, which is a country in West Asia, and we had meeting with some of their government staff that represents President Erdogan.

After being shown a few of the palaces and then meeting with the President at his residence in Ankara, we were escorted back to the air base in Ircirlik. I thought their palaces were beautiful.

I was not confusing Turkey with Turks, the island. That is what you "assumed."
 
Born_To_Lose said:
Just to be clear, if that's even possible, when I saw the island of Turks mentioned, it reminded me when I was in Turkey, which is a country in West Asia, and we had meeting with some of their government staff that represents President Erdogan.

After being shown a few of the palaces and then meeting with the President at his residence in Ankara, we were escorted back to the air base in Ircirlik. I thought their palaces were beautiful.

I was not confusing Turkey with Turks, the island. That is what you "assumed."
Click to expand...
Funny thing - when I read your earlier post mentioning Turkish prisons, I assumed (apparently correctly) that's exactly what happened in your brain. I'm also one who tends to "free associate" (remember that term?) so it didn't seem a non-sequitur or a mistaken reference to islands within the Turks & Caicos chains.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top