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2 Seattle men stopped at border for illegal candy
SEATTLE — Two Seattle men say they spent more than two hours in a detention center at the Canadian border after U.S. border agents discovered illegal chocolate eggs in their car.
Brandon Loo and Christopher Sweeney told KOMO-TV ( http://is.gd/usuy85) they decided to bring home some treats for friends and family during a recent trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. They bought Kinder Eggs — chocolate eggs with a toy inside.
The two men say border guards searched their car and said the eggs are illegal in the United States because young children could choke on the small plastic toys. Importing them can lead to a potentially hefty fine.
Sweeney says the bust was a waste of his time and the agents' time. The men eventually got off with a warning.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined to comment about the case Tuesday night.
The agency warned on its website around Easter that the treats can't be imported legally.
The agency says it seized more than 60,000 Kinder Eggs from travelers' baggage and international mail shipments in fiscal 2011.
SEATTLE — Two Seattle men say they spent more than two hours in a detention center at the Canadian border after U.S. border agents discovered illegal chocolate eggs in their car.
Brandon Loo and Christopher Sweeney told KOMO-TV ( http://is.gd/usuy85) they decided to bring home some treats for friends and family during a recent trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. They bought Kinder Eggs — chocolate eggs with a toy inside.
The two men say border guards searched their car and said the eggs are illegal in the United States because young children could choke on the small plastic toys. Importing them can lead to a potentially hefty fine.
Sweeney says the bust was a waste of his time and the agents' time. The men eventually got off with a warning.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined to comment about the case Tuesday night.
The agency warned on its website around Easter that the treats can't be imported legally.
The agency says it seized more than 60,000 Kinder Eggs from travelers' baggage and international mail shipments in fiscal 2011.
I used to bring Kinder eggs home for my daughter from all my business trips to Europe. Little did I know it was a plot to suffocate her; guess we're lucky she survived...
Update: The US import ban has been in effect since the product's inception in the 70s, based on the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Little did I know that I was a smuggler...
ACK!
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