An Ontario man who was arrested in the Dominican Republic over accusations of smuggling drugs is recounting his 71-day ordeal in the Caribbean country.
David Bennett, 57, returned home to Burlington on May 16 after weeks of intense lobbying by the Canadian government officials and others, led by his wife Jane Wilcox, saw his charges withdrawn.
The couple had spent a week at a resort with two friends and were on their way home on March 7 when Bennett was denied entry at the automated customs gate at the Punta Cana airport and taken to an interrogation room.
The two were shown a photo of a bag they didn’t recognize, with a slightly different name on it: Davi Bennett instead of David R. Bennett — the name on Bennett’s bag and all his travel documents. Wilcox told CBC News in March that the charges were “bogus.”
RCMP said this week it continues to investigate baggage tag switching schemes, and it has made arrests related to this particular case.
‘It was really scary’
Now back in Canada, Bennett told CBC Hamilton on Friday about his arrest.
Following the interrogation at the airport, Bennett said officers took him, another male and female couple, who were facing similar accusations, to a pickup truck in the airport’s parking lot.
“[They] loaded us in the pickup truck and drove us at speeds in excess of 130 kilometres an hour, roughly half hour outside of the airport to a compound,” Bennett said.
“We were in the back of this vehicle with no seatbelts on. It was really scary.”
Bennett said there were between 15 to 20 people, some in uniform, at the compound where they were taken.
“That’s when they brought a translator — a lady that could translate a little bit in English to us — and that’s when they told us the seriousness of what was in front of us.”
After a little more than an hour at the location, Bennett said they were whisked back to the airport where they were kept in the back of a hot and stuffy pickup for approximately two hours before being taken to a jail facility.
‘Pitch black’ and no room move in jail
Bennett said he was placed in a “really small” cell with about 12 to 15 other men and more people were added throughout the night.
“It was pitch black. We really couldn’t see the faces of anyone coming in. We just saw body images of people coming in and we had no clue what we were dealing with,” he said.
“I literally sat in the corner for the whole time because it was standing room only. There was no room to lay down, there was no room to really move.”
Bennett said he tried to stay positive, telling himself the whole thing would be sorted out the following morning, and he would just need to “tough it out” that night.
“My goal was to fall asleep and just sort of forget about it and not think about it.”
But the ordeal lasted much longer than one night.
Bennett was charged with trafficking drugs. He was taken to court on March 8 and released on $5,000 bail. He could not leave the Dominican Republic because of a travel ban and his passport was held by local authorities.
The charges against Bennett were withdrawn around mid-April, but the travel ban remained in place.
“I moved nine times in 71 days [and] I had this black cloud over my head the whole time I was there,” he said.
‘Landing back in Toronto was amazing’
Meanwhile, Wilcox worked around the clock, first to have the charges against her husband dropped and then to bring him home.
On May 15, around 8 p.m. ET, the family got the news they spent more than 10 agonizing weeks pressing for.
Global Affairs Canada advised the family by email the travel ban had officially been lifted and they were just waiting for the paperwork the next morning, Bennett said.
He said his wife “booked a flight within 20 minutes” for him to travel home to Canada the following afternoon.
“Landing back in Toronto was amazing. We had an amazing approach coming in over Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It was a beautiful evening, so I had just an incredible view of the area and, you know, just touching down at the airport was just an amazing feeling,” Bennett said.
He said he missed a lot of things, including birthdays and anniversaries, while being stuck in the Dominican Republic — but he’s happy to be back home.
‘Project Nourish Dave’
Bennett said getting back to his wife, family and friends has been a “saviour.” He’s also glad to be in his own bed again.
“I wasn’t sleeping at all very well down there…. I was tired for the first handful of days [upon return] and I still feel some residual kind of tiredness throughout the day. We have an amazing friend network that supported us through this, so it’s been quite the week and I’m just so grateful to be home,” he said.
Wilcox is also relieved the ordeal is over.
“I’m on Project Nourish Dave right now. He lost some weight while he was away, so I’ve got the zest for cooking and nourishing, and we’re just soaking up every minute we can,” Wilcox told CBC News.
Wilcox said Canadians deserve better treatment from the country’s embassies and Global Affairs Canada.
“There were wires crossed. We received disinformation. They didn’t answer our questions. People didn’t seem to know what was happening. It was extremely frustrating,” she said.
CBC News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment.
The RCMP said its Toronto airport detachment members continue to actively investigate cases involving incidents of baggage tag switching in attempts to smuggle illegal drugs and contraband out of Canada.
In addition to the recent arrests, RCMP say it is “also co-operating with any and all foreign police partners to provide evidence that may assist any files related to these investigations.”
For Wilcox, the “silver lining” in the experience is the community support they received through it all.
Wilcox said it cost the family close to $85,000 to fight the charges. They were able to raise $55,000 and are “super grateful” for all the community support.
“We’ve begun to talk about how we can help other people who are in traumatic situations, and are victims of crimes…. We’re going to explore that as we continue to heal here ourselves.”
