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Musician claims feds destroyed rare flutes at airport
Judson Berger foxnews.com A Canadian musician claims that U.S. Customs officials seized and destroyed 11 rare flutes as he passed through New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport last week. The reason? Concerns they were an ecological threat. The charge from Boujemaa Razgui, who is based in the U.S., has drawn widespread attention -- in the U.S., in Canada, and particularly in the music community. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, though, is disputing the claim that the agency destroyed instruments. Rather, a spokesman told FoxNews.com they only destroyed a handful of fresh bamboo stalks, "per USDA regulations," out of concern that they could be carrying pathogens harmful to the environment. But if Razgui's claim is true, it wouldn't be the first time the government has seized musical materials. Federal agents staged a series of raids on Gibson Guitar factories in 2009 and 2011 out of concern that shipments of wood for fingerboards violated an obscure federal law. Razgui could not be reached for comment on Friday to respond to CBP's claims. But he has told colleagues and the press that federal agents did indeed destroy his flutes. In an interview with Canada's Globe and Mail, he said he was traveling back from Madrid to Boston, via New York, when the incident happened. His bags never reached Boston, and he later found out they had been searched in New York. Razgui said he was carrying 13 instruments, including 11 flute-like instruments called neys, along with dried bamboo. He claims he was told those "agricultural products" were destroyed. "These instruments are priceless to me. I make them with my own hands and I can't make a living without them," he told the Globe and Mail. He said he's been traveling with his instruments for years, and "nothing like this has ever happened." to read more: foxnews.com
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