It’s a possibility Jane Wilcox hadn’t remotely considered when she and her husband planned a trip to the Dominican Republic.
“It’s a living nightmare,” said Wilcox, of Burlington, Ont., about the arrest of her husband, David Bennett, by police on drug charges at the Punta Cana airport a week ago.
“It’s ridiculous, the charges are so frivolous — there’s no evidence whatsoever,” Wilcox told Global News at her home Friday.
Like thousands of Canadians each year, Wilcox, Bennett, and another couple travelled for a week in Punta Cana as a late-winter break. They’d been to the Dominican Republic previously.
“In going there before we felt safe,” said Marc Travers, one of the friends on the trip.
The week was relaxing: the Canadians played tennis almost daily, ate well and enjoyed the sun and the beach at an all-inclusive resort.
The problems arose when the four went to the Punta Cana airport for the return flight home.
Everyone in the group successfully cleared the electronic passport control kiosks allowing them to exit and proceed to the airplane, except Bennett.
Wilcox said he was taken to an interrogation room and questioned about a piece of bright yellow luggage that had “Davi Bennett” on a tag marked with Punta Cana’s airport, PCA, as its destination.
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The bag was not among those checked in by Wilcox or Bennett, she said.
When Wilcox was later allowed to join Bennett in the room, they were both asked about the bag.
“We said, no, that’s not David’s bag,” she says she told the official.
Nevertheless, police didn’t accept the explanation. Wilcox said Bennett insisted she go on and board the aircraft and attempt to assist him from Canada.
Inside the cabin, Wilcox said she got a text message from her husband.
“He said: ‘I’m in trouble.’”
Wilcox said Bennett was charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine for the purposes of trafficking. He spent the weekend in a local jail, and moved more than once.
“Dave is innocent, 100 per cent,” said Travers, who has known Bennett for more than a decade.
Bennett is a public relations consultant with more than 20 years in the industry. He works at an agency owned by Wilcox.
“He’s one of the most honest and caring, loyal people,” she said, referring to her husband, whose friends and colleagues are rallying for his release.
In a statement, Global Affairs Canada told Global News it is “aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in the Dominican Republic. Consular officials are in contact with local authorities and are providing consular assistance.”
Burlington MP Karina Gould’s office said, “We hope this case will be resolved promptly.”
Global News attempted to obtain comment from the Dominican Republic consulate in Toronto but was unsuccessful.
A representative of the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism in Toronto said she was not aware of the case involving Bennett and advised Global News to call the Punta Cana airport for information.
An email sent to the country’s National Directorate of Drug Control, or DNCD, the country’s anti-drug agency, was not answered.
“Picking the Dominican Republic because you think it’s a safe place to go for a holiday, it turns out it’s not,” said Travers.
Wilcox says lawyers in the Dominican Republic and Canada are working to get her husband free of the charges so he can return home.
In 2022, five crew members with Pivot Airlines were finally allowed to return to Canada after spending eight months in the Dominican Republic, unable to leave, because police alleged the Pivot had brought drugs into the country.
At this point, Bennett may have to wait one or two more weeks to appear before a judge. In the meantime, he is staying in an apartment in Punta Cana, in improving spirits, according to his wife, but still unsure about his immediate future.
Wilcox expressed gratitude to friends, co-workers, and journalists for putting pressure on the Dominican Republic government by talking about what happened to Bennett.
“Thank you for helping us share this story so we can get him home.”
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Ontario man detained in Dominican Republic ‘nightmare’ after mystery yellow bag found
