Snorkeller dad faces jail in Turkey for taking home 13 old coins he’d found in sea
It is possible that a recent earthquake had shifted the coins closer to the shore.
After Mr Robyns’s arrest at MilasBodrum Airport on Friday, his wife Heidi, 43, a doctor’s receptionist, and their two sons, Baxter, nine, and Brodie, seven, flew home. They are said to be “distraught”.
His friend James Stoneham said: “He found a number of coins among the rocks and sand. When he went to get his flight home, they dragged him off and searched his luggage.
“They are accusing him of taking Turkish artefacts, which he was obviously unaware of.”
Mr Stoneham said he regarded the coins as a souvenir and did not intend any dishonesty. “This was harmless fun on a holiday,” he added.
A family member, who asked not to be named, said: “Toby is always snorkelling. It’s his hobby. He’s defi- nitely not a smuggler and that’s what I think they are trying to say.
“They are making a mountain out of a molehill.
“I thought he would get a slap on the wrists, they would confiscate the coins and send him on his way.”
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “We are assisting a British man following his arrest at Bodrum and remain in contact with his family and the Turkish authorities.” The decision on whether or not to charge Mr Robyns is further complicated by the fact Turkey has a judicial holiday this month. It could take between four and six weeks for the authorities to consider his case.
He is currently being held at Milas prison, a compound that holds about 70 inmates and is patrolled by guards on the perimeter and the roof.