Kinder Egg Ban: Two Men Detained At American Border, Faced Possible $15,000 Fine–For Illegal Chocolate

Two Seattle men were stopped at the Canadian border and detained for more than two hours after U.S. border agents found they were smuggling illegal contraband into the country… that just happened to be chocolate Kinder eggs.

The agent discovered a stash of Kinder Eggs, a chocolate egg with a toy inside, that the men said were treats for family and friends. The men, Brandon Loo and Christopher Sweeney, told KOMO News that they picked up the Kinder eggs during a recent visit to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Not aware of their illegal status, the men packed up the chocolate eggs and left for home.

“We packed it in the back of the car because we weren’t going to eat them,” Loo told KOMO News.

When they got to the border, the guards searched the car and discovered found the illegal chocolate eggs.

“He said, ‘Are you aware kinder eggs are illegal in the United States and carry a $2,500 fine per egg?’ And I actually laughed,” Sweeney said.

The eggs, which are coated in chocolate and have a small toy inside, are illegal in the United States because young children can choke on the small parts inside, MyFoxNY.com reported. Importing them can lead to some pretty big fines–$2,500 per egg, one border guard told Sweeney.

Together the men could have faced up to $15,000 in fines, but the border agents let them off with a warning instead. Sweeney told MyFoxNY.com that the whole incident was a big waste of time.

The chocolate eggs are apparently a big deal at the border, U.S. Customers and Border Protection Agency Mike Milne told MyFoxNY.com. Though travelers usually get off without a fine, border agents confiscated close to 60,000 Kinder eggs last year.

“Kinder eggs are prohibited just like narcotics are prohibited,” Milne said. “Our officers, if they encounter prohibited stuff, they’re subject to seizure.”