Two Seattle Men Detained at US Border For Illegal Chocolate Eggs: 'I Actually Laughed

(The Blaze/AP) -- Two Seattle men say they spent more than two hours in a detention center at the Canadian border after U.S. border agents discovered illegal chocolate eggs in their car.

Brandon Loo and Christopher Sweeney told KOMO-TV they decided to bring home some treats for friends and family during a recent trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. They bought Kinder Eggs - chocolate eggs with a toy inside.

"We packed it in the back of the car because we weren't going to eat them," Loo told KOMO-TV.

The two men say border guards searched their car and said the eggs are illegal in the United States because young children could choke on the small plastic toys. Importing them can lead to a potentially hefty fine.

"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 explained.

The men eventually got off with a warning.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined to comment about the case Tuesday night.

"They wasted our time," Sweeney added. "They wasted the money spent on the agents to do this and there are other cars that went through without checking them at all."

The agency warned on its website around Easter that the treats can't be imported legally.

A similar incident occurred in 2011 when a woman had her chocolate Kinder Eggs confiscated at the U.S. border. She was warned by officials that the candy is illegal in America and is considered "contraband."

The agency says it seized more than 60,000 Kinder Eggs from travelers' baggage and international mail shipments in fiscal 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.