For most travelers, a winter escape to the Dominican Republic conjures images of sunshine, beaches and all-inclusive relaxation. But for David Bennett, a Burlington, Ontario, Canada resident, what was supposed to be a one-week getaway turned into a two-month nightmare that cost him his freedom, his peace of mind and more than $80,000.
Bennett recently returned home after spending 71 days detained in the Dominican Republic, where he was falsely accused of drug trafficking. His story, first reported by Travel Industry Today, serves as a sobering reminder for everyone traveling to the D.R. and abroad.
According to Bennett, the ordeal began on March 7 at the Punta Cana airport. As he and his wife Jane Wilcox were preparing to fly home, he was stopped at an automated customs gate and taken to an interrogation room. Authorities showed him a photo of a bag he didn’t recognize, one tagged with a similar but incorrect name, “Davi Bennett.” Despite protesting that the bag wasn’t his, David was arrested on the spot and told he could face up to 30 years in prison.
“I certainly didn’t expect it to evolve into what it did, that’s for sure,” he told Travel Industry Today. “Not in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen like that.”
From there, Bennett was handcuffed, placed in an overcrowded cell and left to navigate a foreign legal system with limited translation support. Wilcox managed to post $5,000 bail but that was just the beginning. The couple spent the next several weeks trying to clear his name, enduring court delays, bureaucratic backlogs and a frustrating lack of communication from authorities.
Even after Dominican prosecutors dropped the charges, Bennett couldn’t leave. A court order needed to be signed to lift the travel ban, a process that dragged on for weeks. During that time, Wilcox and community members back in Canada pushed for political support, reaching out to government officials including MPs Karina Gould and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.
On May 15, Bennett was finally told by Global Affairs Canada that Dominican authorities had agreed verbally to lift the ban. Without waiting for the paperwork to catch up, he and Wilcox booked a flight for the next day and headed to the airport hoping for the best.
“I never felt really comfortable until the wheels left the tarmac,” Bennett said. “Even though I was innocent, I had in the back of my mind, ‘What’s going to go wrong here?’”
Now safely home, Bennett is sharing his story to warn other travelers and call for more transparency from the Canadian government when citizens are detained overseas. He said communication with Global Affairs and the Canadian Embassy was limited and often vague, adding, “I do believe Canadians deserve better.”
His advice to travelers? If possible, avoid checking bags and always track your luggage tags. He also urges Canadians to review the federal government’s travel advisories before booking a trip.
Despite the trauma, Bennett says the experience has sparked a desire to travel even more.
“I want to live my life and I want to enjoy,” he said. “There’s so many beautiful places to see in this world and it hasn’t ruined my want to do more things.”
I’m not so sure I would be still wanting to travel the world after Bennett’s ordeal — At least not in the short term. I would just stick to staying in Canada or the U.S.A. — though the latter is getting a bit scary.
Have you ever had a travel experience take a scary turn?
Sorry, Canada is scarier for me now than any time in the past, especially being Jewish. Ill stick to my country for now