US Customs and Immigration have made life difficult for musicians for many years. 2014; A Canadian artist had more than a dozen of priceless instruments smashed to pieces by US customs after officials ruled they posed an ‘ecological threat’. Virtuoso flutist Boujemaa Razgui only discovered that his instruments had been destroyed when his luggage never arrived at his final destination in Boston and he was told customs in New York had confiscated the flutes. Mr Razgui’s luggage contained 13 rare hand-crafted instruments - 11 nay flutes and two kawalas – as well as dried bamboo to use when building more instruments. Mr Razgui, a Canadian national living in Boston, was travelling from Madrid to his home town via JFK Airport in New York. Upon arrival, he found that his bags were missing. When he returned to the airport the following day, staff in Boston said the bags had been searched at JFK and his ‘agricultural products’ destroyed. US customs are refusing to apologise to Mr Razgui, claiming they were acting in the interests of American agriculture.
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