By Amanda Musa | CNN
Four Americans are charged with possession of ammunition offenses in the tropical Atlantic getaway of Turks and Caicos, according to a post from the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.
Carrying firearms in Turks and Caicos is prohibited, according to the TCI Government. Bringing firearms or ammunition, including stray bullets, into the British Overseas Territory without prior permission from police is “strictly forbidden.”
Individuals who violate the law face a minimum 12 years in prison, according to an April advisory from the US Embassy in the Bahamas. A post on X from the island government said judges do have discretion to lower the minimum when there are “exceptional circumstances.”
One of the individuals, Ryan Watson, was arrested at the Howard Hamilton International Airport on the island of Providenciales on April 12, according to TCI police.
Watson and his wife, Valerie, were detained upon departure of Turks and Caicos where they had been celebrating several of their friends’ 40th birthdays, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help the family with expenses.
Airport security found four rounds of ammunition “unknowingly left in a duffel bag from a deer hunting trip,” the post said.
Valerie Watson was released of charges and allowed to return to Oklahoma, an April 23 update from the fundraising page shows. The page does not give a reason for her release.
The TCI government has declined to comment further on the Americans arrested.
After posting a $15,000 bail, Watson was released from jail on April 24 but was forced to surrender his passport and remain on the archipelago, TCI police say. His next court hearing is set for June 7.
The ammunition was “not noticed by TSA when leaving America,” the GoFundMe post said. “Now, they are facing a legal system that is unfamiliar, daunting, and expensive.”
In a statement to CNN, the TSA confirmed Wednesday that four rounds of ammunition were not detected in a traveler’s…
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