Turks and Caicos ammunition detentions: How many Americans have been arrested in 2024?

A group of United States lawmakers flew to Turks and Caicos to meet with the government of the British overseas territory and appeal for the return of five American citizens who had been arrested for possession of ammunition. The members of Congress argued that handing out a prison sentence was too harsh for simply possessing bullets.

However, the bi-partisan delegation was unable to secure the release of the detained Americans.

Their trip follows an appeal by three U.S. governors to the Turks and Caicos government to treat the arrested tourists with mercy. The governors of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia sent a joint letter asking the archipelago’s governor to rethink the charges against the residents of their respective states and consider leniency in their treatment of them.

Both the lawmakers and the governors said the people arrested committed honest mistakes, were unaware that they had bullets in their luggage, and had no deliberate intention to break the law. All five detainees claimed they did not know that they had bullets in their luggage when they set out for their trip to Turks and Caicos.

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Turks and Caicos ammunition detentions: How many Americans have been arrested in 2024?

Here is the list of the tourists who have been detained at Turks and Caicos, all of them arrested within the past several months.

If convicted, the Americans could face possible mandatory sentences of 12 years in prison.

The Turks and Caicos government strengthened their gun control laws two years ago, and banned civilians from carrying firearms or ammunition.