A recent vacation break to Miami almost ended in disaster when the police stopped our car due to a broken tail light.
My girlfriend and I had decided to take a last minute package holiday to Florida. We’d found a great fly-drive deal that gave us 7 nights to enjoy the gulf coast beaches and theme parks of Orlando during late spring, before the summer rush.
We flew from Gatwick to Orlando airport and went straight to the car hire desk to collect the keys to our car. We’d pre-booked our first two nights in the Clarion Hotel and a hire car for the duration of our stay. Our loose plan was to stay put if we liked the hotel and its location, or move on if we were inclined.
After resting up for the first night and enjoying a fantastic meal in the hotel restaurant we spent the following day sightseeing and shopping. We finished the day at a fantastic fish restaurant that served some really delicious seafood with great service and entertainment thrown in. It was on the drive back to our hotel that things took a turn for the worse.
It was when we got on the highway that a police car came up behind us and indicated for us to pull over. The police officer told me that one of my tail lights wasn’t working and asked me to step out to take a look. I told the police that we had just hired the car after arriving from the UK only yesterday. The helpful police officer suggested that I should open the trunk so that he could take a look at our faulty lamp.
He shone his torch into the boot and immediately we could see traces of what looked like a white powder all over the trunk lining. The police officer’s manner changed immediately and he returned to his vehicle where he spent some time communicating on his radio. Within only a few minutes a second police car arrived with two officers inside. We were told that we needed to accompany them to the police station to answer some questions.
It was at the police station that it became clear that they didn’t really believe our story and they suspected that we were in fact drug dealers. My girlfriend was understandably very upset by the whole experience. It took no less than nine hours for the police to finally corroborate our story and verify who we were.
Luckily people at the car hire firm were still working at that late hour and they were able to provide police with full details of the previous person who had driven the hire car. I’ve no idea whether the police ever caught up with the person responsible for carrying cocaine in the boot of our hire car.
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Travel tip: We saved a fortune on airport parking by booking online, in advance. Also, make certain that your travel insurance policy covers you for legal expenses abroad.
