Global Resorts Blog Network

A recent holiday excursion to sunny Florida soon turned into a nightmare when police stopped and searched the hire car that we were driving due to a broken tail light.

My girlfriend and I had decided on a last minute bargain package deal 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.

Our first night was spent resting in the hotel ready for our first full day which we spent sight-seeing and shopping. We ended an excellent day with a fantastic meal at a seafood restaurant that provided some excellent entertainment along with great service. 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 the tail lights was out and asked me to get out of the car to have a look, which I did. I informed the police officer that we had only arrived the previous day and picked up the hire car from Orlando airport. 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. It was only a couple of minutes before a second police car arrived with two police officers inside. They told us that we were to accompany them to the police station to answer a few 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 incredibly 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 there were still people working at the car hire office, even at that late hour, and they were able to provide police with details of the person who had hired the car prior to us. 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.