A British tourist had a holiday he would never forget – after being arrested when officers mistook him for a convicted cigarette smuggler with a similar name.
James Colley and his wife, Louise, booked a package holiday to Tunisia to celebrate his retirement in the sun.
However, the 57-year-old’s peaceful retreat quickly turned into the holiday from hell when he was questioned by armed police upon touchdown at Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport and sent to a court in the capital, Tunis.
The dad-of-three, who is known as Jim, later learned that the police were looking for James Coyle – who had been convicted of smuggling cigarettes into the country in 2012.
The couple, from Newcastle, had to spend the rest of their £1,400 holiday fighting the charges.
They then had to cough up an additional £800 to cover three eight-hour round trips to Tunis, lawyer fees and bribes to local officials.
On the final day of their ‘holiday’, Jim appeared in front of a judge, only for the case to be dropped in seconds as the charges were ‘too old’.
The 57-year-old said: ‘We still don’t know if it was a scam to make money. Were the police involved? The passport people?
‘I’m quite a calm person, but honestly, you don’t argue with someone with a gun* You’ve got no idea – are they trigger-happy? It was absolutely terrifying.
‘I’ve never had any mental health problems in my life, but honestly, this was mentally draining.’
Wife Louise, who is a community staff nurse, warned other Brits against travelling to the North African nation.
She said: ‘Don’t go. It sounds terrible as there are some nice people over there, but it’s just not safe – I just don’t think it’s safe for any British tourists to go at the minute.
‘It could have been our kids. They could have been on holiday, and it could have happened to them. They might not have coped as well as we did.
‘We didn’t know if Jim was going to get locked up or what the hell was going to go on.
‘It was completely terrifying. It should have never happened. I don’t know why we’ve been picked on. It’s total corruption over there.’
The holiday had meant to be a celebration of Jim’s retirement as a Nissan car plant worker, and the couple had booked into a £1,400 five-star hotel in Mahida.
They never got to enjoy the facilities, as Jim was stopped at the airport and questioned for hours.
He said: ‘They kept on taking my passport away and asking us the same two questions: Had I been to Tunisia before and where did I work?
‘I said I’d only been once on my honeymoon in 2009. They didn’t believe us, they said, “You’ve been before.”
‘They had guns, and you don’t argue with someone with a gun. They then got an interpreter down, and he basically said, “You’re going to have an invitation to appear in court.”‘
Jim described the court building as looking like a ‘1960s bank’ with ‘paper files everywhere’ and members of staff smoking. Upon arrival, he was presented with a court document, which named him as ‘James Coyle’.
The couple managed to secure the services of a local English-speaking lawyer for £130, after previously being quoted £530.
When in court, Jim shared he was terrified of being fined or ending up in prison, but within 30 seconds of standing in front of the judge he ‘waved their hand in the air’ and an usher came and whispered: ‘It’s all over, you’re free to go.’
Jim’s legal team then informed him that the case never should have gone ahead as the offence was too old.
He explained: ‘Basically, what they knew all along was that the case was for cigarette smuggling in 2012. This James Coyle was convicted in his absence.
‘Because the case was over five years old, it just got thrown out anyway – not the fact that it wasn’t even me, mistaken identity.’
The Tunisian Embassy in London has been contacted for comment.
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