Folks,

I also encourage all International travelers to be hyper vigilant in following all the airline and rules of the country you are going to visit. "It will probably be ok" is a disaster waiting to happen.

Mark

I remember this from 2013:

http://articles.timesofindia.i...naik-airport-bullets

US techie caught at Bhubaneswar airport with 8 bullets
Debabrata Mohapatra, TNN Sep 19, 2013, 03.14AM IST
Tags:US National|Houston|AmsterdamBHUBANESWAR:

A US national allegedly travelled 15,722 km from Houston to Bhubaneswar via Amsterdam and New Delhi with live ammunition before being caught at the Biju Patnaik airport on Wednesday. Eight .22mm bullets were found in his bag.

Police identified the man as William Michael Hurtubise (27), a service engineer. He was arrested for possessing the bullets without license.

William was about to board a chopper for Paradip when he was caught during security checking at the airport. The chopper was sent by a Paradip-based shipping company where William was supposed to carry out some mechanical inspection.

"We arrested him under the Arms act. The American embassy has been informed," DCP Nitinjeet Singh said. Police said William possessed a valid passport.

Quoting William, police said he boarded an Amsterdam-bound flight from Houston on Sunday. He reached Delhi from the Holland capital on Tuesday, after which he caught a connecting flight to Bhubaneswar.

William told police that he possessed a licensed revolver at America. "The bullets were lying in my bag. I forgot to leave it back home," William said. He admitted that the security personnel at Houston and Delhi airports could not detect the bullets during checking. "After reaching Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, I checked into a hotel and left for Bhubaneswar airport to catch the chopper for Paradip on Wednesday morning," he said.

Police found William's statements difficult to believe. Security has been tightened across all airports in the US after the killing of four people at a naval base in Washington on Monday. How he hoodwinked cops at Houston, Amsterdam and New Delhi remains a mystery.

"We are verifying the exact date of his departure from America and whether he actually carried the bullets from there. We suspect he could have procured the bullets after reaching Bhubaneswar," Singh said.

The hotel where William checked in on Tuesday, said his luggage was properly frisked, but no objectionable articles were found. "He might have got the bullets after checking out from our hotel on Monday morning," said a hotel staffer.

If you go on travel overseas, make sure you don't have any "bullets" or "firearms parts" in your luggage.

I just conducted a web search, looks that William Michael Hurtubise spent 33 days in jail before getting bail because he had eight 22lr rounds in his luggage. And then, he had to stay in country till the mess was figured out.

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/166415258/

I am sure the Lawyer's fees took all his savings, and probably put him in debt.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne...rks-caicos-jail.html


Oklahoma Airport in hot water for failing to find bullets.

Biden will get them home.

it'll be in a long rectangular shaped box, but sure.

Trinidad and Tobago are the same, son brought me a couple of newspapers. Possession of a couple of shot gun shells will get you serious jail time.

These kind of extreme actions on the part of other governments over accidental violations that come from honest (vs intentional & nefarious) actions by tourists make me wonder why anyone who hunts or shoots would support the tourism industry of such countries. I know I won’t.

There is no way in hell I’d ever knowingly go anywhere that a simple, honest mistake could land me in jail for a day, let alone 12 years in prison. As nice as Turks & Caicos is, there are plenty of other destinations we can spend our discretionary spending on where governments don’t have extreme laws.

Strangers can sometimes be kind to innocents, but never foreign governments to Americans.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
These kind of extreme actions on the part of other governments over accidental violations that come from honest (vs intentional & nefarious) actions by tourists make me wonder why anyone who hunts or shoots would support the tourism industry of such countries. I know I won’t.

There is no way in hell I’d ever knowingly go anywhere that a simple, honest mistake could land me in jail for a day, let alone 12 years in prison. As nice as Turks & Caicos is, there are plenty of other destinations we can spend our discretionary spending on where governments don’t have extreme laws.

Dude. You live in California. Just wondering out loud here what I might expect if ammunition was found in my carry on going through customs at LAX?

Exactly
Countries like this should be immediately on the list not to go to by US

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Nelson:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
These kind of extreme actions on the part of other governments over accidental violations that come from honest (vs intentional & nefarious) actions by tourists make me wonder why anyone who hunts or shoots would support the tourism industry of such countries. I know I won’t.

There is no way in hell I’d ever knowingly go anywhere that a simple, honest mistake could land me in jail for a day, let alone 12 years in prison. As nice as Turks & Caicos is, there are plenty of other destinations we can spend our discretionary spending on where governments don’t have extreme laws.

Dude. You live in California. Just wondering out loud here what I might expect if ammunition was found in my carry on going through customs at LAX?

You would not be facing 12 years in jail!!!

Don't travel to shithole countries, especially by air, and you'll be fine. No sympathy. Regards, Bill.

Now that the world views us as being led by essentially a potato that can barely read a teleprompter no one is scared of us anymore. Worse yet.....I bet we give millions every year to some of these shitholes that treat American travelers like garbage.

There is a near endless list of people that are lucky I'm not king. Good people would have nothing to fear.

quote:

Originally posted by Bull Sprig:
Now that the world views

There is a near endless list of people that are lucky I'm not king. Good people would have nothing to fear.

Heaven forbid I should contract terminal cancer, my list grows longer almost every day...!!!!

Way too many ignorant, potentate dictatorships still in the world today. WAY too many.

quote:

Originally posted by Wstrnhuntr:
Way too many ignorant, potentate dictatorships still in the world today. WAY too many.

Exactly!

No common sense whatsoever!

I watched what happened to a little Spanish kid who had a tiny knife - probably half inch blade - in his backpack.

He was stopped at Munich airport behind me.

In no time at all two police officers with MP5 arrived to keep watch.

45 minutes later the whole family were still being quizzed.

I had to leave to catch my flight!

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
These kind of extreme actions on the part of other governments over accidental violations that come from honest (vs intentional & nefarious) actions by tourists make me wonder why anyone who hunts or shoots would support the tourism industry of such countries. I know I won’t.

There is no way in hell I’d ever knowingly go anywhere that a simple, honest mistake could land me in jail for a day, let alone 12 years in prison. As nice as Turks & Caicos is, there are plenty of other destinations we can spend our discretionary spending on where governments don’t have extreme laws.

Question being, Do they just pick on "Rich" Americans ?

Number FIVE is caught with ammo!

Now I am beginning to think these guys are just plain STUPID!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Number FIVE is caught with ammo!

Now I am beginning to think these guys are just plain STUPID!

more gamblers that are loosing at each time.

America has always been a gun culture. Look at how many people you see today open carrying. My son and I keep guns and ammo in our trucks. I took me an hour to get all of the 12 gauge and rifle bullets out of my truck so that I could drive onto to Cherry Point Marine Base last week. I have to dump out my Filson bags every time I travel and repack. I need to come up with a better system.

Due diligence- avoidance.

Go over every piece of luggage to include carry-ons and Dopp kits. Look into every fold and crease,
especially if you are coming back from a US-based hunting trip. Examine your family's bags like a US Customs agent in secondary inspection.
On an extended trip to Europe beforehand I found a
magazine in a fold of my carry-on.

Foreign governments do not have to believe your explanations. Even as a retired Federal agent, it
could have been worse than embarrassing. Be prepared and trust nothing to chance. It's just not worth it.

Someone I know has a daughter that got to find out how stupid hawaii can get over one round or case of 9mm.



Oh well may be like the US of A . . . Can not stop the flow of tons of drugs from entering and yet have many gun laws that affect law abiding citizens

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Leeper:
Don't travel to shithole countries, especially by air, and you'll be fine. No sympathy. Regards, Bill.

And when Trump called these places Shithole countries, many of you got your panties in a wad and he was/is so right and Dems are absolutely hostile to hunters and gun owners
When do we wake up?

5?

How do you read the news and not check your bags again and again?

Sad part is, these are productive, law abiding, tax paying fathers who's families will be torn apart - yet we let criminals go free here with no bail.

Yes, I know, respect the laws in the countries you go to. But if I was POTUS, I ask that 5 return home after paying a fine OR we put the islands on a no travel list - same as North Korea.

I was going through security at Milwaukee airport after a deer hunt.
As my coat was going into X-Ray I say to the TSA Agent, "I was deer hunting, I checked pockets but if there is anything there you can have it." He picked up a can of ammo and shook it saying, "This week we have different rules."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/t...n-hagerich-sentence/

American gets suspended sentence.

Some time ago I was on my way to Canada to bear hunt and thus had my hunting coat on to save room in my luggage. The plan was due to be boarded in a few minutes and luggage was already checked.

It's a good thing I stuck my hands in the pockets because I found four 12GA turkey loads in them. I hated to do it but dumped them in the ladies room trash can.

As a hunter, the best advice I ever got about packing for any trip was to be sure to start with an empty bag.

That means dump everything out and check to be sure it’s truly empty before one even thinks about starting.

That rule has saved me some trouble.

I suppose it applies just as well to clothing, whether packed or worn.

Question on tipping in South Africa. Never been their, only Zimbabwe. How much for PH and the rest of the guys? 7 day plains game hunt.

Thanks in advance

Where is our gov, when we need them, 8 bullets in any foreign country should be a 50 dollar fine.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/vir...released-time-served

Virginia resident gets time served and $9000 fine for two bullets.

It has gotten bad if you are traveling on a private Sportfishing yacht. Use to be able to keep one shotgun, on simi rifle and a semi pistol on boat for protection. No longer allowed when you enter most island nations. Many boats here will steam over to Bermuda next month after the Big Rock for the Triple Cown.
When you get to port in Bermuda their customs office will confiscate your spear gun and flair gun until you leave. You really need your guns when going by islands like Jamaca, Hati and some parts of the Bahamas. Rastafarians are not all about love. There are Pirates around that run small outboards and will try and board you at night. Just like in Africa that information does not make it to the tourist sites.

quote:

Originally posted by Capt.Purvis:
It has gotten bad if you are traveling on a private Sportfishing yacht. Use to be able to keep one shotgun, on simi rifle and a semi pistol on boat for protection. No longer allowed when you enter most island nations. Many boats here will steam over to Bermuda next month after the Big Rock for the Triple Cown.
When you get to port in Bermuda their customs office will confiscate your spear gun and flair gun until you leave. You really need your guns when going by islands like Jamaca, Hati and some parts of the Bahamas. Rastafarians are not all about love. There are Pirates around that run small outboards and will try and board you at night. Just like in Africa that information does not make it to the tourist sites.

And all that would keep me from going there.

quote:

Originally posted by Capt.Purvis:
It has gotten bad if you are traveling on a private Sportfishing yacht. Use to be able to keep one shotgun, on simi rifle and a semi pistol on boat for protection. No longer allowed when you enter most island nations. Many boats here will steam over to Bermuda next month after the Big Rock for the Triple Cown.
When you get to port in Bermuda their customs office will confiscate your spear gun and flair gun until you leave. You really need your guns when going by islands like Jamaca, Hati and some parts of the Bahamas. Rastafarians are not all about love. There are Pirates around that run small outboards and will try and board you at night. Just like in Africa that information does not make it to the tourist sites.

I bet all the billionaire yachts are armed. different rules.

I read about an event that happened probably 10-15 years ago. Two retired couples (the husbands former navy officers) were sailing somewhere around Africa when two boats of pirates tried to hijack them. They had two things the pirates didn't: M1 rifle with a scope and a giant sailboat with a steel hull (ran over one of the pirate boats).

quote:

They had two things the pirates didn't: M1 rifle with a scope and a giant sailboat with a steel hull (ran over one of the pirate boats).

Jesus saves!

https://www.foxnews.com/us/ame...s-us-side-turks-side


American arrested in Turks and Caicos says it's unclear if State Dept was on 'US side' or 'Turks side'

'They didn't have, really, anything to offer,' Bryan Hagerich said
Audrey Conklin By Audrey Conklin Fox News
Published June 7, 2024 4:00am EDT

Bryan Hagerich discusses a less-than-helpful State Department and 'anti-American sentiment' among Turks and Caicos government officials.

Bryan Hagerich, a Pennsylvania dad of two, has been home for nearly two weeks after he was arrested and detained for more than 100 days in Turks and Caicos for having stray ammunition in his luggage at an airport on the islands.

Hagerich, like four other Americans arrested over the same thing since February, did not know the ammo was in his suitcase when he prepared to fly back home after a vacation with his family, but he had to argue his way out of a minimum 12-year sentence for the crime regardless.

A judge eventually ordered the 39-year-old former baseball pro to pay a $6,500 fine and allowed him to return home. Now, Hagerich is speaking up about a lack of support from the State Department and what he described as "anti-American sentiment" among TCI government officials — though he says locals went out of their way to be kind and helpful.


"I wasn't contacted by the State Department once I was detained for over two months, I think it was over 70 days. Once I was initially contacted, it was after the story had gathered national media attention," Hagerich told Fox News Digital. "…An individual [with the State Department] that came to the island more or less kind of felt like a check-the-box-type exercise. It was pretty clear in their mind that we committed a crime. We should essentially go to jail for that."



Hagerich also recalled a U.S. State Department official joking, "Why don't you guys just hop on a boat? If you show up on the U.S. soil, they have to let you back in."


Hagerich said the Department's handling of his situation "begs the question": "Which side of the table are they on? Are they on the U.S. side or are they on the Turks side?"

"They didn't have, really, anything to offer," he said.


A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the Department, as well as U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas.   

Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained in a foreign country, the State Department seeks immediate access to visit the individual, the spokesperson added.



When a U.S. citizen is arrested overseas, the State Department stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance, the spokesperson said, noting that U.S. citizens are generally subject to a foreign country's laws when they travel there, even if those laws differ from those in the United States.



Due to privacy considerations, the Department did not provide further comment on the Americans recently arrested in Turks and Caicos.

Hagerich also took issue with what he described as "anti-American sentiment" from TCI officials overseeing his case. Prosecutors compared him to an American murderer and Brittney Griner, he said.

"They need to look at a different approach to solve this."

— Bryan Hagerich

"Quite honestly, they're doing a better job of capturing, you American fathers, American mothers, grandmothers, than they are their own people [committing crimes]," Hagerich said. "Looking back and reflecting upon … the homegrown violence that they have on the island, they need to look at a different approach to solve this. I can honestly share that 95% of the everyday, working people on the island were extremely supportive of us."



Since February, five other Americans have been arrested in Turks and Caicos for having bullets in their luggage. Two, including Ryan Watson of Oklahoma and Sharitta Grier of Florida, still face their sentencings.



A local officer told Hagerich at the police station when he was checking in one day, "I can't believe you're still here. This has to be a money grab. This has to be political," Hagerich recalled.

"We went on a vacation. Our biggest concern was making sure the kids had their swimsuits, their puddle jumper, sunscreen," Hagerich said. "It wasn't looking for travel alerts. I didn't believe we were going to an area in place that we would feel unsafe."

Michael Wenrich, a Virginia father, was also arrested for having ammo in his luggage — in his case, just two stray bullets that fell into the lining of his bag. He was released last week and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.


"There's still so much crime on that island that it's pretty obvious it's not deterring people," Wenrich said. "So it would benefit, I think, the tourists and the islanders there if they could reevaluate how those laws are written for instances where people aren't intending to do any criminal acts."

Wenrich, unlike Hagerich, said he was immediately connected with the State Department once he was detained because his father had reached out on his behalf.



"As the process went along, they kept in contact. I did feel like we kind of had to push for their help a lot more," he said of the Department. "I was fortunate to have one of the representatives at my sentencing arguments hearing, which was nice, just so they could see how the process goes and hear the arguments and kind of understand how discombobulated that courtroom can be. I don't know what they did behind the scenes."

Both Hagerich and Wenrich thanked state and federal lawmakers, as well as their friends and family, for their assistance in helping them get back home.

I've vacationed in the Turks many times. Wonderful people. Is the reaction to ammo an overreaction? Perhaps. But it is THEIR law. What f-ing moron has loose ammo rolling around their luggage?

You can crap on the Turks or "shithole" countries all you want. But once you leave the USA, you're on your own. Make good choices.

Sarcasm intended - I'm certain that if you arrived in Dubai with undeclared ammo in your bags, they'd have nothing to say about it?

Yet at the same time, you want tourism to help you with your economy, then don’t make stupid laws
It goes both ways
Trump would put them shithole countries in their place in a heart beat
Nuff said