Travel agents give tips on how to avoid being arrested abroad for items in your luggage

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Travel agents say situations like that of the Oklahoma man arrested in the Turks and Caicos Islands for carrying ammunition are more common than people might think, so people should be careful about the medications and clothing they pack for international travel.

Ryan Watson, a resident of Edmond, is expected to enter a guilty plea in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday after police there arrested him in April.

In the Turks and Caicos Islands, possession of ammunition is illegal and can result in up to 12 years in prison.

Security officials at the Turks and Caicos Islands airport found ammunition in Watson’s luggage when he arrived for his flight home in April.

Watson said he recently used the bag for hunting and did not realize there was ammunition inside.

“I feel so bad for this guy,” said Lia Vincent, owner of Oklahoma City-based travel agency Vincent Vacations. “It’s really unfortunate. It seems like such an extreme punishment.”

But Vincent says Watson’s situation ultimately came as no big surprise to her.

“I can fully imagine how this could have happened,” Vincent said.

She says this with confidence because she has experienced it before.

“We’ve had a client with a problem before who had traveled to Mexico with ammunition,” she said. “And the Turks and Caicos Islands have stricter regulations on this than Mexico, but the people who went to Mexico still went to jail.”

Now she gives all her customers the same warning:

“Always travel with travel gear,” Vincent said. “And if you need something for hunting, just keep it in a completely different closet. Make sure it doesn’t get mixed up with your travel gear.”

And when packing for a trip abroad, you shouldn’t just think about ammunition.

She says that in addition to ammunition and weapons, certain drugs are attracting the attention of authorities abroad. Even in countries that appear to have similar laws to the United States,

In particular, many people are unaware that possession of most stimulants prescribed in the United States to treat ADHD is illegal in many European countries.

“Even things like controlled substances like Adderall, for example,” she said. “There are many countries where Adderall is illegal.”

She says even the clothes you wear could get you handcuffed – if you don’t do your research first.

“In certain countries, wearing camouflage clothing is prohibited and you can get in trouble if you don’t wear camouflage clothing in that country,” she said.

In fact, you don’t even have to travel abroad to get in trouble for carrying something that is perfectly legal where you are departing from.

“Medical marijuana is legal in Oklahoma,” she said. “But under federal law, it’s illegal. So you can’t even take marijuana on a domestic flight.”