Men threatened with $15,000 fine for bringing chocolate eggs across border
Jul 18, 2012, 11:42 AM | Updated: 2:38 pm
 Kinder Eggs get pretty costly if you try to bring them in the U.S. Taking the illegal eggs across the border can result in a fine of $2,500 per egg. (Image courtesy Wikimedia: A. Kniesel) |
Four friends crossing the border from Canada to Washington
spent over an hour in a detention center and were nearly
saddled with a $15,000 fine after U.S. border agents
discovered chocolate eggs in their car.
Joe Cummings says he’s made the border crossing many times
and nothing at first seemed out of the ordinary.
“We’re going through the border, typical Sunday, and the
agent decided to ask us some questions,” Cummings tells 97.3 KIRO FM’s Dori Monson Show. “Then he
took the keys to my car and popped the trunk and found six
of these Kinder Eggs in the trunk.”
Kinder Eggs are a hollow chocolate egg with a toy inside.
One of Cummings’ travel companions had picked up the candy
as a gift to bring back.
Cummings says they learned the eggs are illegal in the
U.S.
because they can pose a choking hazard for children.
Border agents told them the penalty for bringing the eggs
across the border is a fine of $2,500 per egg. That would
have been a fine of $15,000 for the six eggs found in
Cummings’ vehicle.
In the end, the guys were just let off with a warning.
“They didn’t impose the fine,” says Cummings, who seems
relieved, but still remains surprised by all the hassle
they incurred over six candy eggs.
“I was a little dumbfounded and pretty offended, just
being an American citizen trying to get back into
America.”
In a funny twist of events though, the men were actually
able to keep their troublesome treats.
“The ironic thing is actually, when we left and got back
into America, we popped the trunk and the Kinder Eggs were
still in the car.”
But Cummings says he’s done enjoying Kinder Eggs
stateside.
“I went back up to Victoria on Monday and I actually got
six and I enjoyed them in Victoria, safely.”
By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor
The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
