Prop that was purchased was confiscated by US Border patrol

hero44hire

hero44hire

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A friend of mine purchased an obviously fake Hellboy gun prop that was created by an artist in Italy. When they tried to ship it to them it was confiscated. They received a letter from the US government stating that it was against the law to deliver and that they had three options. One is to write a letter as to the situation and describe in detail why, what, when etc... Two abandon the property or three is to pay a fee or go to court. Has anybody had this happen to them? Any advice on how my friend can get the prop released and delivered without any legal issues?

Thanks
 
Being Canadian, I'm not familiar with U.S. firearm laws, however I know that here it's perfectly legal to import a prop gun so long as it can't be made to fire and doesn't imitate a real world firearm. When I imported my Blade Runner blaster, I had to visit Customs personally and explain what it was and assure the officers that I wasn't going to go waving it around in the streets. Ultimately, because it didn't violate either of the two aforementioned laws, I just paid the duty that was due and was able to take it home.

Option 1 would be my first choice; assuming you have similar laws to us, a simple explanation that it's a non-working prop from a fantasy movie might suffice. If that doesn't work, then I'd look into either paying the fee or going to court.

Good luck.
 
Thank you. I think a response to the letter with the description you mentioned is a good idea. Any US folks run into something like this?


"Everyone Needs A Hero"
 
I'm in Canada as well. I had two plastic prop 1911 pistols confiscated. I wrote the letter explaining the situation and that they were obviously for display purposes and couldn't possibly be modified to fire as they were completely plastic. They kindly informed me they would be sending them off to the incinerator. Then I went and found out I could buy airsoft replicas of the exact same guns off Amazon in Canada. Wow this makes sense.

At the same time I ordered an OffWorld Inc model Blade Runner pistol and it arrived with no problems. I guess it's a gamble as to the mood of the particular customs official you get or if your order comes with a document explaining it.
 
Writing a letter to explain the situation definitely sounds like the first choice.
What might help here is to collect and include as many information as your friend can get about the gun and the prop, for example include pictures taken from the movie, or some statement from the seller, since he created it and can confirm that it's A not working and B a replica of a movie prop.

Oh, and where was it sold? If it was an ebay auction, he should print the auction page and include it, since it's illegal to sell (real) weapons on ebay.
 
If it's anything like here in the UK you'll spend months going round in circles only for it to be destroyed.
 
Can you be more specific? The prop is coming from Italy, and its destination is... the US? If I understand correctly, it should have passed through US customs on the East Coast, not through border patrol. Which border patrol did it pass through, Canada/US, or Mexico/US? Also, I thought it was only illegal to send fully automatic firearms into the US. Even if the Hellboy prop were somehow functional, it most closely resembles a semi-automatic pistol.
 
red4, if it were a legal firearm other than a non-cartridge using black powder gun, in the U.S., it has to be delivered to a person or business that has a Federal Firearms License such as a gun shop or a gunsmith. Since this gun was sent to the buyer, who I'm guessing does not possess an FFL, if U.S. Customs thought the gun was real, they would confiscate it.
 
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I seem to recall California having pretty strict laws against even replicas (maybe NYC as well?) but as for the rest it shouldn't be a problem from what I know. This must be a case of them thinking it's real or something... maybe a trainee flagged it mistakenly. The only other thing I could imagine would be if if were labeled with "HELLBOY" somewhere and they flagged it as a counterfeit/unlicensed item, so if your friend writes that letter... make sure they don't mention WHAT movie or IP it belongs to...
 
red4 said:
Also, I thought it was only illegal to send fully automatic firearms into the US.
Click to expand...

Imported rifles also have to conform with 922r. Wouldn't matter on a made up handgun anyway but those are the laws. I'd write a letter explaining the situation.
 
It was customs as you stated not border patrol. It made it all the way to Philadelphia and then was confiscated there. Final destination was MA.


"Everyone Needs A Hero"
 
hero44hire said:
It was customs as you stated not border patrol. It made it all the way to Philadelphia and then was confiscated there. Final destination was MA.


"Everyone Needs A Hero"
Click to expand...

That's not how things work with the U.S. Postal system. If the thing got seized in Philadelphia, he would have men with suites knocking on his door, not a letter in the mail outlining options....
 
tommin said:
That's not how things work with the U.S. Postal system. If the thing got seized in Philadelphia, he would have men with suites knocking on his door, not a letter in the mail outlining options....
Click to expand...

Well that is exactly what happened buddy. Are you saying my statement isn't true?


"Everyone Needs A Hero"
 
If PA was the port of entry or where it clears customs, have your buddy call them up and send off some emails with pictures to ease their concerns. A Hellboy Samaritan could be mistaken for an early turn of the century weapon by the untrained eye.
 
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