# Musician's bamboo flutes destroyed at U.S. customs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 3, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809 "2014-01-03T16:46:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/1 "2014-01-03T16:46:57Z")
:eek: This makes no sense. I can understand not allowing the flutes into the US. But why destroy them? What the Hell? Put them in quarantine and give the guy a chance to retrieve them. > **[U.S. customs agents destroy Canadian musician's bamboo flutes | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/musician-s-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs-1.2482370)** > > A Canadian flutist has been left baffled and distraught after U.S. customs agents decided to destroy his traditional, handcrafted Middle Eastern bamboo flutes. > [@](#): > > A Canadian flutist has been left baffled and distraught after U.S. customs agents decided to destroy his traditional, handcrafted Middle Eastern bamboo flutes. > > “I am still waiting for that answer,” Boujemaa Razgui told CBC Radio’s As It Happens, when asked why he thought U.S. Customs and Border Protection would destroy his instruments. > > Razgui was flying from Madrid through New York’s JFK airport to Boston. It was at JFK airport that officials found his flutes, and after classifying them as agricultural products, destroyed the flutes “in accordance with established protocols to prevent the introduction of plant pathogens into the United States,” the border agency told As It Happens in a statement. > > Razgui found out his instruments were missing when his instrument case didn’t arrive at his home in Brockton, Mass. He rushed to Boston airport to find his flutes, and was given a phone number for the “department of destroying things,” as he described the border agency. He phoned the agency and learned that his flutes were gone for good. > > “They don’t tell me anything — they just act,” Razgui complained. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/2 "2014-01-03T17:17:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > But why destroy them? What the Hell? Put them in quarantine and give the guy a chance to retrieve them. They clearly made an error by classifying the flutes as agricultural products. But beyond that, that’s what they do with unauthorized agricultural products. If something isn’t allowed in the US, the owner can’t legally retrieve it anyway. Unless the owner is taking it back out of the country - but you can’t expect Customs to store all the fruits and vegetables they seize, and let the owner claim it when they leave the country. Also, many of the banned items are banned because they can carry pathogens or pests. Just storing it in the US carries some risk. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/3 "2014-01-03T17:22:37Z")
I would demand the broken pieces. Otherwise I’m thinking the flutes were flat out stolen. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/4 "2014-01-03T17:23:15Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I would demand the broken pieces. > > Otherwise I’m thinking the flutes were flat out stolen. More likely ashes. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/5 "2014-01-03T17:25:55Z")
I can’t understand not allowing the flutes into the U.S. If bamboo flutes are agricultural products, so is anything made of wood or wool or cotton. That sweater you bought in Scotland - incinerated. That tiki carving from Bali - gone. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/6 "2014-01-03T17:26:13Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I would demand the broken pieces. > > Otherwise I’m thinking the flutes were flat out stolen. I doubt they broke them, they were probably burned or otherwise completely destroyed. The object was to remove potentially dangerous bugs, not stop them from being used as flutes. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/7 "2014-01-03T17:29:14Z")
And I doubt that a sensible person labeled them as agricultural products. I think it’s highly likely they were stolen and then an excuse was made. A rather poor excuse. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/8 "2014-01-03T17:31:59Z")
I read in another article that the flutes were in the same bag as other dried reeds that he was going to turn into flutes. So they grabbed those, along with the flutes and destroyed them all. Looking at [this image](http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/flutes.jpg?w=610), it would be pretty easy to see that in a baf and think it was a piece of bamboo and not a musical instrument. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/9 "2014-01-03T17:34:09Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > And I doubt that a sensible person labeled them as agricultural products. > > I think it’s highly likely they were stolen and then an excuse was made. A rather poor excuse. Government drones being thieves or stupid? I am shocked, shocked I say. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/10 "2014-01-03T18:03:08Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > And I doubt that a sensible person labeled them as agricultural products. > > I think it’s highly likely they were stolen and then an excuse was made. A rather poor excuse. I think its far more likely that whomever confiscated them was not a sensible person, but a fairly new customs agent acting with more vigor than understanding. Bamboo flutes do not move on the black market. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/11 "2014-01-03T18:06:14Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Otherwise I’m thinking the flutes were flat out stolen. I dunno - I remember UK comedian Bill Bailey saying he had a kazoo confiscated by Australian customs on a tour because it contained something organic inside. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/12 "2014-01-03T18:57:25Z")
Hey **OP** , why not quote the section of the article that explains _exactly what happened_: > [@](#): > > But the border agency told As It Happens that it “discovered fresh green bamboo canes approximately three to four feet long” in unclaimed baggage that belonged to Razgui. Fresh bamboo is prohibited from entering the U.S., the agency said. > > Since the purported “fresh bamboo” and Razgui’s instruments were in the same container, he lost his entire collection of 13 flutes—and with them, his livelihood. So there was an agricultural product in the same container, so they threw all the bamboo out. A little heavy handed, but not quite the outrage he’s claiming. And if those flutes were his livelihood, why didn’t he claim the baggage at JFK? Every time I’ve flown internationally, you claim your bags at your port of entry, go through customs, then recheck them on your connecting flight. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/13 "2014-01-03T19:01:59Z")
Could this simply be a publicity stunt? ---
**Author:** ![Peaton\_of\_peat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecae2f/32.png) [@Peaton\_of\_peat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peaton_of_peat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/14 "2014-01-03T19:06:39Z")
I dunno about you guys, but I’m going to miss having ash trees in North America. Black walnuts too. I’m too young to remember American elms and chestnuts, but I’m sure the place would be nicer with them than without. I don’t know what pests that bamboo might be carrying, and that’s the issue. Probably there’s nothing harmful in there. Most likely there’s nothing more than a minor pest. But “most likely” is not terribly good odds when the potential downside is the devastation of the environment and economy while the upside is it’s easier to bring flutes into the country. I understand the guy’s complaint, because customs regulations are a huge pain in the ass that don’t make a lot of sense at first glance and they go along with TSA regulations that don’t make sense under scrutiny. Still, the regulations are there for a reason, and I’m sure there are ways he could get his bamboo reclassified, maybe by having them boiled or something to kill any potential pests. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/15 "2014-01-03T19:23:50Z")
If the flutes really were the be-all and end-all of his life, why didn’t he have them with him in a carry-on? The TSA’s [website](http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/musical-instruments)says you may carry one musical instrument in addition to one carry-on and one personal item through the screening checkpoint, but I believe they’re referring to large instruments in their own case such as a trumpet or violin, rather than some flutes that probably could be rolled up in a towel. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/16 "2014-01-03T19:27:42Z")
This NPR story says that Customs is claiming all they saw (and destroyed) was the fresh bamboo. They say the separate case containing the flutes which Razgui said was placed on top of the fresh bamboo was missing. Customs only got involved in the first place because the luggage was unclaimed and had been left at the airport. Razgui said he waited at the carousel but never saw his bag come through. The airline told him to go home and they’d send him the bag when they found it. Then when it finally arrived at Razgui’s house, the flutes and bamboo was missing. > **[Destroyed By Customs? Or Stolen? Whatever Happened, Flutes Are Gone](https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/01/02/259168342/destroyed-by-customs-or-stolen-whatever-happened-flutes-are-gone)** > > Whatever actually happened to musician Boujemaa Razgui's collection of handmade flutes, it's a reminder not to put precious items in your checked luggage. > [@](#): > > A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection asserted in an email exchange with NPR Music yesterday that there were no instruments involved at all in the agency’s actions, “just fresh bamboo seized that were found by CBP agriculture specialists.” (U.S. law stipulates that such fresh plants are prohibited from entering the country to deter the spread of plant pathogens.) According to the Customs representative, the only materials seized were “fresh green bamboo canes approximately three to four feet long inside of unclaimed baggage.” So what happened to those flutes? Perhaps the flutes were stolen? Perhaps that’s why the luggage was late getting to the carousel? Or perhaps it’s an insurance scam - why would Razgui check all 13 of his priceless, irreplaceable, instruments? Or perhaps Customs is ass-covering? It wouldn’t be the first time, obviously. Hopefully, something will turn up. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/17 "2014-01-03T19:32:20Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I read in another article that the flutes were in the same bag as other dried reeds that he was going to turn into flutes. So they grabbed those, along with the flutes and destroyed them all. Looking at [this image](http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/flutes.jpg?w=610), it would be pretty easy to see that in a baf and think it was a piece of bamboo and not a musical instrument. Is that Adam Sandler playing the flute? ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/18 "2014-01-03T19:39:04Z")
This may be a cheap shot, but why is this guy protesting to a Canadian news source if he lives in the U.S. and has a dispute with a U.S. agency? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/19 "2014-01-03T19:49:02Z")
**Merneith** , that does sound like there may have been an “airside” theft of the instruments, which would explain why the luggage was left aside in the handling area without delivering it to the pick-up carousel and Customs then handled it as “unclaimed”. But yes: precious valuables? Carry-on; special-handling request and insurance; split packing between different members of the party if possible; _courier service_ (DHL, FedEx). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809/20 "2014-01-03T20:02:24Z")
But who is going to steal a bunch of bamboo flutes? They’re obviously valuable to the owner, but do they have any actual monetary value? Looking at the picture of him playing one, it looks more like a kiddy toy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-bamboo-flutes-destroyed-at-u-s-customs/677809.md?page=2)