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Border Patrol Detain Men Over Illegal Chocolate Kinder Eggs

By Deanne Katz, Esq. on July 25, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Kinder Eggs seemed like a perfect gift for family and friends so Chris Sweeney and Brandon Loo bought a few to bring back to Seattle without knowing they were illegal.

Kinder Eggs, also known as Kinder Surprise, consist of a chocolate egg wrapped around a small toy or prize. The eggs are legal in Canada but have never been permitted into the U.S. because of safety concerns.

The couple was vacationing in Vancouver, British Columbia and put the eggs in the trunk of their car on their way back to the U.S. Before they got home, they were stopped by border patrol agents who weren't happy to see the eggs.

The men were detained but the whole incident was ultimately an exercise in futility.

Border patrol agents at the U.S. border found the eggs in the trunk and told the men they could face a $2,500 fine per egg, according to the Calgary Herald. The men were taken to a detention facility where they waited for over two hours.

But after the waiting and worrying, agents at the detention facility let the men go after telling them not to bring Kinder Eggs across the border again. So Sweeney and Loo got into their car and drove home.

After all the upset and time spent detaining the two men, no one bothered to seize the Kinder Eggs.

This isn't the first time Americans have been mystified by the 'dangerous' status of Kinder Eggs in the U.S. In 2011 a woman was detained at the U.S. border when she tried to bring one of the chocolate treats back from Canada.

That egg was confiscated and destroyed by the government as most are. More than 60,000 Kinder Eggs were seized during 2011 alone.

The number of Kinder Eggs brought from the U.S. to Canada may mean that most Americans don't know they're illegal or at least don't agree with the FDA's position that they are 'dangerous.' But ignoring regulations can lead to a hefty fine so check what's allowed before bringing things across the border.

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