Monday, May 13, 2013

Weird Border News: No You Can't Import The Dutch Pressure Cooker

A Saudi man landing in Detroit with a pressure cooker in his luggage raised some eyebrows among Customs and Border Protection officers. Either this was a very weird probe, or this guy is just plain dumb, or a combination of the two.

The Detroit Free Press: Saudi traveler with pressure cooker arrested at Detroit Metro Airport.

Federal agents arrested a suspicious traveler with an altered Saudi Arabian passport at Detroit Metro Airport during the weekend after discovering a pressure cooker in his luggage.

According to a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court, the passenger, Hussain Al Khawahir initially told customs officers that he brought the pressure cooker for a nephew at the University of Toledo because pressure cookers are not sold in Saudi Arabia, the complaint said. The man then changed his story and admitted his nephew had purchased a pressure cooker in America before, but it “was cheap” and broke after the first use

Adding to the fun of travelling with a pressure cooker was that his passport was suspiciously missing some pages. Combine that with lying to CBP and he's getting deported.

Apparently the pressure cooker was purchased in Amsterdam if you buy the Saudi's claim that you can't purchase them in Saudi Arabia.

The moral of the story for travellers, aside from being truthful and not traveling on an altered passport, is that you should stick to buying Dutch Ovens in Amsterdam and leave the pressure cookers there alone.

1 comment:

ProudHillbilly said...

Radar up on altered passport.

And he either doesn't pay attention to the news or is very dumb. After Boston I wouldn't be dragging a pressure cooker around with me.