Moldovan model mistaken for prostitutes says they were deported by Bahamas for not having a return ticket

A Moldovan businesswoman says her sister was banned from the Bahamas for not having a return ticket home, prompting accusations she was a prostitute, and she complained about having to fly economy class back to London .

Ina Pînzaru, 36, was traveling to the tropical island with her sister Darina, 25, in preparation for her younger sister’s engagement to Miami real estate developer Hal ‘Nuby’ Sears, 64.

The Moldovan sisters, who hold Romanian passports, say immigration officials at Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport “put them through hell” and threatened to jail them.

Ina, who works in the family’s garment business in the Moldovan capital, told DailyMail.com that she and her sister begged to be told why they were being detained, but were simply told: ‘We know your culture, we don’t want to you in our country.

Ina cleared immigration after explaining that she had booked a flight to Turks and Caicos, but got into trouble when she went to find out why another officer was holding Darina.

She said: ‘It was complete hell to be honest. We had been on a nine hour flight from London, then had to come back with an eight hour one after waiting a long time at the airport.

“We arrived on business and they sent us back by coach, and even gave us different seats on the plane.

‘My sister was crying and super upset, the ladies on the plane were nice to us and tried their best to give us seats next to each other.

“It took us three days when we landed in London to recover emotionally from what happened. It was meant to be the ride of a lifetime, but it was absolute hell.’

According to Ina, her sister’s immigration raised red flags because they did not have a return flight to either London or ‘their home country’.

Ina claims they were questioned about their round-trip tickets to the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas Immigration website says that all travelers must have a valid round-trip ticket in order to enter the country.

But then the staff told them: ‘We know your culture, we know why you are here and we don’t want you here.’

The sisters believe the staff thought they were sex workers from Eastern Europe, something they strongly deny, and say the whole experience left them devastated.

Ina says that they were escorted to the plane by three officers, who only allowed them to return their belongings at the door of the plane.

Darina is ready to have her dream proposal in Amsterdam, and her boyfriend sent a complaint to the Bahamian Embassy in London when they got back.

But there has been no response from any government officials there, nor have they responded to DailyMail.com’s requests for comment.

The sisters traveled with Sears to the Maldives and Bali instead of their island-hopping trip on their 70-foot yacht with ten friends as planned.

But they said their banishment from the Bahamas left a “sour taste” in their mouths.

Ina told DailyMail.com: ‘We were not given any further information about what was happening, and at one point we were told we were going to jail.

‘The woman said ‘they’re not going in’ and that’s when all hell broke loose. We were able to prove we had a return ticket, but they didn’t care.

They were rude, dismissive and arrogant. They wouldn’t let us pay for new tickets in cash, or access our phones to use Apple Pay.

I asked why we weren’t allowed in, because we made sure we knew all the rules before we went in and they didn’t tell us.

“They were threatening us to go to jail and we asked them what we were supposed to have done, but they didn’t tell us.

‘It was unacceptable, it’s the first denial I’ve had in my life and I’ve been traveling since I was ten years old.

“We never heard from the Embassy of the Bahamas in London, which I cannot understand. All we want is a response from them.

‘I asked them if it was a permanent ban and they said no, and I find it strange that we had this experience when our friends said they expected more from the US and its immigration.

‘For me personally, it’s unfinished business. I would like to go back to prove a point, but other than that, I have no great desire to go there.

‘There are many beautiful places where you don’t get treated like criminals for no reason. I still don’t get it, it felt like a random act of violence for no reason.

Sears met Darina in Romania last summer, and the pair quickly fell for each other, with the original plan having been for the couple to travel in their $5 million Pershing 7X yacht on a voyage that would take them around the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

He ran out of the Four Seasons Ocean Club Resort, where he was staying with the hotel’s head of security to help the sisters after they called him.

The real estate developer then filed a complaint with the Bahamian embassy in London on behalf of the two sisters, but received no response.