Wife of Ontario man arrested in Dominican Republic says he's '100 per cent innocent'

David R. Bennett is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jane Wilcox *MANDATORY CREDIT *

TORONTO — Jane Wilcox thought it was a simple mix-up when customs officers pulled her husband aside at the Punta Cana airport as they were heading back to Toronto.

The couple had just spent a week at a resort in the Dominican Republic with two friends and were on their way home on March 7 when her husband was denied entry at the automated customs gate and taken to an interrogation room, Wilcox said.

There, they were shown a photo of a bag they didn’t recognize, with a slightly different name on it — Davi Bennett instead of David R. Bennett, the name on her husband’s bag and all his travel documents, she said.

The similarity was enough to detain him for further investigation, Wilcox said they were told, even though the couple was adamant that was not his bag. Eventually, Bennett told her to go on ahead without him, she said.

It was only the next day, after Wilcox had returned to their home in Burlington, Ont., that she learned what he was accused of: smuggling a large amount of drugs in his suitcase.

“This entire situation is absolutely ridiculous,” Wilcox said.

“When I heard they were charging him with trafficking drugs into the Dominican, I nearly fell off my chair. He is the most risk-averse, buttoned-down human I know,” she said.

“He is 100 per cent innocent.”

Since then, Wilcox has been working hard to get her husband home, rallying legal support, government assistance and a large community of friends and connections to help build his case, she said.

Bennett, meanwhile, has been released on bail and is awaiting his next court date, expected to take place in the next week or two, she said.

Global Affairs Canada said it is aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in the Dominican Republic. Consular officials are in touch with local authorities and providing assistance, a spokesperson said in an email, declining to comment further due to privacy considerations.

When her husband called to say he had been arrested and jailed, Wilcox said she was relieved to confirm he was alive, but concerned to see him so clearly distraught.

“You could tell he was traumatized and he was in trouble, he didn’t sleep at all,” she said. “It was the most horrific night of his entire life.”

Until then, Wilcox said she had believed the situation would be resolved quickly and her husband would soon be on his way home.

“I hadn’t started too much because I’m kind of thinking he’s going to go on the next flight, right?” she explained. But his call brought home the seriousness of their plight, she said.

Bennett spent a weekend in custody, first in a cell that was standing room only, then in a slightly less packed cell with more than a dozen other men, she said.

A local lawyer reached out to him in custody and eventually connected with their lawyer in Ontario, she said, which helped keep them up to date on developments in the case.

Bennett was released on $5,000 bail and given his belongings, including his passport, Wilcox said. After a few nights in hotels, he was able to find more stable accommodations and had a meeting with staff at the Canadian Embassy, she said.

On her end, Wilcox talked to airline staff, RCMP and federal officials to figure out the next steps, she said.

Wilcox has also been in touch with the family of two other people who were detained from the same flight, she said.

The uncertainty, combined with the intense public scrutiny in Punta Cana, have been stressful to navigate, Wilcox said.

Several articles about the incident have been published in local media, along with a photo showing the back of Bennett’s head, she said. Officials also shared a video on social media of the drug squad taking Bennett and others through the airport in handcuffs, she said. The video is shot from behind.

Wilcox said she and others are doing their best to bolster Bennett’s spirits as the case stretches into weeks.

“We have dinner together on video with my kids and friends and that kind of thing to try and keep him up and fight this,” she said.

“Because it may turn into a long battle for no good reason,” she said. “It just makes no sense.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press