Sailboat Seized with Guns in Tulum, Mexico

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

I think you might be on to something there. The guy is actually a US government undercover agent and this boat/gun arrest is a setup to get him into prison to gather intel on mexican cartel.
The tats are too prison gang authentic, the pregnant wife classic spy work.

Actually I was thinking this is the type of thing that happens to a gringo in a not so pleasant prison. Those aren't Tats, those you get from being held down by your new friends. Not that I would have any working knowledge of prisons.

[Crimea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Actually the AK47 uses a rotating bolt while the SKS45 uses the tilting bolt. The A in AK simply stands Автомат which itself is short for Автоматическая загрузка, or auto loading. The AK47 was designed as a selective fire weapon operating in either semi-auto or full auto modes depending on the tactical situation. As far as I know, there is no separate designation for an strictly semi auto AK47 and the selective fire version, unlike the AR15/M16 designations.

One more little point, civilian use and ownership of the AK47 and its ammunition is strictly banned in Mexico.

Way to set the boys straight on the technical stuff Astrid!

How we got from a a poor child in foster care in a stranger's hands to the complexities of gun manufacturer labeling is beyond me! I'm all for the moderators striking the whole thread!

Last I checked there were 196 ( plus or minus depending on shifting politics ) countries in world with 196 versions of what is lawful in their country. My country's legal does not mean legal 196 times over. If you want to be a citizen of the world then you have to play by the rules of the world.

[Madwand]

Who did he set straight? He said almost the same thing I said. Except that the fire control group is different.

[Pelagic]

Sad that some members take pleasure from other’s mistakes!

I am curious to know if the skipper was actually given an opportunity to declare the guns, given that he was in a Force Majure scenario, having inadvertently grounded on transit to Panama.

Under present Mexican Rules, if he had declared the arms…. What would have happened?

[Crimea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Madwand

Who did he set straight? He said almost the same thing I said. Except that the fire control group is different.

Last time I checked, "her" profile it shows she, "Astrid", Is ALL woman!!

[RedHerring]

Few more thoughts for that teenager kid, reading Cruisers Forum.

1. It's KalAshnikov, not Kalishnakov. Emphasis on the second syllable and both a's pronounced as a "u" in "gun".

2. Never held a "civilian" version of this thing in my hands, but there must be a fire selector on it, too, cause on the real thing the switch has three positions: "auto", "single" and "safety".

3. If this guy was really just sailing for pleasure from FL to Panama, ran aground in Mexico, and happened to have what, five or six pieces on a small boat, that would be ... odd. If the idea was to sell them along the way, that's stupid, but not so odd.

[bobconnie]

As far as facial Tatoos are concerned, In my wild youth I had a couple of facial Tatoos. I had Port and Starboard running lights on my ear lobes, and a question mark on my forehead! and not from prison, just from youthful stupidity!! By the time I went crusieing I had them removed, now they are just a couple of light scars. Even in these days of young folks loving Tatoos you don't see much face Tatooing done most anywhere but in prison ! I know that if he Had to check in to any country he would be greatly checked out, because of his looks and his tattoos ! Just sayin he looks like a crime waiting to happen LOL just my 2 cents

[Madwand]

Originally Posted by Crimea Cruiser

Last time I checked, "her" profile it shows she, "Astrid", Is ALL woman!!

Irrelevant. I don't make it a habit of checking people's profiles to determine their gender.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

If it really was an AK-47, which is a fully automatic rifle, then his ownership of it was probably illegal in Florida and Panama as well. But the odds are it was not an AK-47, every rifle that looks like one gets called one in the nooze, because that's the best way to demonize all the rest.

Odds are it was the usual SKS, a semi-automatic version. Idle curiousity, it would be nice to know those details. If it was an unlicensed true AK-47...goodbye.

Either way, Mexico doesn't care who you are or what your excuse is, they don't want foreginers bringing guns in for any reason at any time. Multiple guns? Yeah, they're going to take a very dim view of that. Even if they were legal to possess at the last and next port.

Not all AK or AR are automatic. Most in this country are not. AK is easily bought in the non-automatic version. Most you see in shops are semi-auto. You must be a classIII dealer to own or sell an automatic or live and be a resident of Kentucky. All legally sold fully automatic guns in private hands in the US require papers. Semi-automatic are just long guns. Some have different trimmings. The black rubbery ones seem to bother people more than the ones with pretty wood, inlay and wild life carvings.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

As far as facial Tatoos are concerned, In my wild youth I had a couple of facial Tatoos. I had Port and Starboard running lights on my ear lobes, and a question mark on my forehead! and not from prison, just from youthful stupidity!! By the time I went crusieing I had them removed, now they are just a couple of light scars. Even in these days of young folks loving Tatoos you don't see much face Tatooing done most anywhere but in prison ! I know that if he Had to check in to any country he would be greatly checked out, because of his looks and his tattoos ! Just sayin he looks like a crime waiting to happen LOL just my 2 cents

Glad you had them removed..use to be when someone was robbed there was no way of knowing who the perp was,now a days all you have to do is tell the police "I dont know what color his eyes were but ,he had tats that said "mom on one arm and 666 across his forehead " Now the cops say "oh we know that guy, we had him in here last week" case solved!

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Sailtexas

That seems completely ill advised. It's well known that Mexico forbids unregistered firearms.Any firearms must be registered with proper authorities before arrival, and with documentation explaining what you're planning on doing with them. Hunting is the only activity usually allowed. With that kind of weaponry it's possible they were into illicit activities. Or maybe just very naive and ill informed?

That's not really a lot of weapons. Even if you were selling, you would have to transport more than that to be worthwhile. Even 600 rounds is not a lot. I probably have 3 tmes that in the safe. If you do a circuit of sporting clay its 100 rounds. A duck hunt may burn off 20 or 30. When we line up the scouts at the gun range its 100 rounds each youngster. This is probably just a guy who didn't know better. Not very bright to enter a foreign land ignorant of the rules and consequences.

Frankly, I don't seem to be able to make out anything but 5 long guns and a hand gun. I can't really makle out what is in the case. At least one of the long guns looks like a muzzle-loader. The two wooden stocks look like old stuff. All appear to be broken down and/or trigger-locked. Not a really scary bunch of stuff but still not legal & definitely not a billiant move.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

A couple of tips for those travelling abroad:
1 - do not wear camo shorts and a wife-beater in Paris. Or Munich. Or Turin. Or anywhere else in Europe. Really.
2 - The US fetish with guns is not generally shared in most other peaceful countries. Nor are the paranoid scenarios and rationalizations used by some gun-owners to justify their belief that guns will keep them safe.

Travel is your chance to experience other cultures... and not to export yours. Enjoy your guns at home. And leave them there.

(how'm I doing Dennis? )

I was told by our coworkers in England that they need a permit to buy steak knives. I guess that's what you use when the guns have been taken.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by KnuckleDragger

Not sure what is written on his face, but I know what it says...

ARREST ME!!!

Yow! I finally saw the guy's picture. I don't know why he didn't register the guns Not to jump to conclusions, but why to people who do dumb stuff look like that? I'm out of this thread.

[Custom30]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"1 - do not wear camo shorts "
I think it is Barbados...or maybe the Turks...where it actually is illegal to wear camo attire and you may be arrested and jailed on the spot for it.

Although, white shorts on a white hulled boat ARE camo, aren't they? On the boat?

Camo is forbidden in St. Lucia, wife found out the hard way!


'

[roverhi]

This is a prime example of why cruising with weapons isn't the smartest thing to do. People getting busted are rare but it's never a winning situation for the bustee. The worst part is the countries where you'd most want to have a weapon are usually the ones that have the worst penalties for getting caught with a gun, Chicago anyone.

If you feel you have to have a weapon. Try and find something that will slip under the radar like a spear gun. The old standbye of 12 gauge flare gun may not work any longer as I hear they are verboten in some areas.

The good thing is that with the exception of a few notable areas, boarding of yachts by thieves/thugs are extremely rare. Probably safer in most parts ofthe world than cruising near any major US city. For areas like the environs of Somalia, Southern Philipines, Malaysian straits, anything short of a 50 caliber machine gun will probably leave you seriously undergunned.

Don't know whether I'd feel safer having a dhow pull up next to me in the Red Sea than this joker in my marina here in Kona.