Part of visiting another country means respecting the norms of their culture. For example, in Japan, one must respect the country’s women-only trains (and look the other way while someone buys Hentai from the corner shop).


This can be difficult, of course, and some handle the cultural transition worse than others. Among the worst is an American tourist named Tyler Wenrich. On a recent trip to Turks and Caicos, he opted to keep some loose ammunition in his bag — a move that could cost him a dozen or so years in prison.



According to People, Wenrich had entered the island on a cruise ship when it was found that he had ammunition in his bag. How did it end up there? Who knows, but thanks to a 2022 law in the country, he could be facing 12 years in prison for it.


“I feel like, as a very honest mistake, that 12 years is absurd,” Wenrich’s wife, Jeriann, told CBS News. “My son’s only 18 months old, and I just don’t want him to grow up without a dad.”



Unbelievably, Wenrich isn’t even the first American to make this mistake this month alone.


As noted by People, “Oklahoma couple Ryan and Valerie Watson were detained for two weeks in the territory after they were found with hunting ammunition found in Ryan’s carry-on bag before their flight home,” and “CBS reports that two other Americans are facing prison sentences in Turks and Caicos on similar charges.”



It really shouldn’t need to be said, but please, make sure you don’t have any ammo in your bag before visiting a country that explicitly bans it.


Better yet, just make sure that, unless you’re going on a hunting trip, you’re not traveling with any ammo in the first place. Your kid’s going to be pretty pissed if you miss her middle school graduation because you felt the need to bring a .22 shell to the Caribbean.