Two-time NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Busch has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after violating Mexican gun laws while on vacation last month.
Busch confirmed the incident in a statement on social media Monday, adding that he returned home to North Carolina and his family considers the issue closed.
He said he “accepted the penalties,” but it isn’t clear how his 42-month prison sentence was resolved. He was also fined the equivalent of 20,748 pesos, which comes out to just under $1,110, according to a press release from the Mexico attorney general.
In the statement, Busch, 37, said he and his wife Samantha were departing Mexico after a vacation in late January when his handgun was detected in his luggage during the airport screening.
“I have a valid concealed carry permit from my local authority and adhere to all handgun laws, but I made a mistake by forgetting it was in my bag,” he said.
“Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the situation was resolved,” he added. “I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico.”
Busch was charged with carrying a firearm without a license and for possession of cartridges for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces, according to the Mexico attorney general.
A translation of the attorney general’s press release described Busch’s “pistol-type firearm” as “380 with magazine stocked with six useful hollow point cartridges.”
The press release states that Busch was sentenced through an “abbreviated procedure.” It also identifies Busch as “Kyle ‘N’,” while a previous version said “Kyle Thomas ‘B’.” Busch’s middle name is Thomas.
Since first being detained on Jan. 27, Busch finished third in the Clash at the Coliseum race Sunday, Feb. 5. A NASCAR spokesman told Autoweek that “with the information we received, we did not feel that this warranted any disciplinary action.”
