5th American arrested in Turks and Caicos for possession of ammo

globalnews.ca:

Yet another American tourist was arrested for carrying ammo into a Turks and Caicos airport on Monday, only a month after another U.S. citizen made international headlines for doing the same.

The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police told CBS News an American was arrested at the Howard Hamilton International airport, but they did not provide specifics about the traveller’s identity. The authority said ammunition was discovered inside the tourist’s luggage during a routine security inspection.

The unnamed person is the fifth American to be arrested for bringing ammunition into Turks and Caicos in the last six months, NBC reported.

Though it was already prohibited for citizens of Turks and Caicos to possess a firearm or ammunition, tourists were previously able to pay a fine. Now, even travellers may face a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years in prison for bringing hunting ammunition into the archipelago.

This latest incident comes just over a month after Ryan Watson of Oklahoma was arrested in Turks and Caicos when ammo was discovered in his carry-on.

When officials searched the bag belonging to Watson and his wife on April 12, they found a Ziploc bag of ammunition that Watson said was from hunting whitetail deer.

He maintains he did not know the ammunition was in the bag.

Charges against Watson’s wife, Valerie, were dropped days after they were both arrested. She has since returned home to Oklahoma to be with their children.

Waston’s charges still stand. He was granted bail after his hearing in April but must remain on the island as his case proceeds.

A week after Watson’s arrest, Virginia-based EMT Tyler Wenrich, 30, was also arrested when officials allegedly found two bullets in his luggage while the man was