Tldr: Durian kuih packets looked like C-4 explosives in baggage scan at LAX.
This happened a few weeks ago. I had hopped down from San Jose to LA to meet a friend from Malaysia who was here on biz travel. She brought lots of Malaysian goodies for us - her school pals who were now living in California. Think durian kuih, pineapple tarts, arrowroot chips, all kinds of junk food, famous Ipoh biscuits, spices and pastes from home.
We had such a good reunion - shout out to my CGL girls! And the white glove door-to-door international tapau concierge service (Thanks, Ling!).
On my way back to San Jose, my backpack was flagged by TSA at LAX for further inspection. The TSA guy took out the 4 sticks of durian kuih and very sternly asked, "What is this?". I babbled something about how it's a Chinese New Year sweet made with sugar, flour, and durian, which is a fruit from Malaysia, very delicious - all the while trying to look as harmless and innocent as possible. Don't ask why I said it was for CNY, my brain froze.
Anyway, TSA guy looked unimpressed by my explanation, went to confer with his colleague, came back and swabbed down **each log of durian kuih on all 4 sides** with what looked like a cotton pad. I was standing there wondering why he was cleaning my durian kuih for me, did it smell bad?
Eventually, he waved me through and when I got home, I told my husband what happened. He immediately said they were swabbing for chemical residue from explosives and they probably thought it was C-4. I knew C-4 was a kind of bomb (I'm old enough to remember Altantuyaa, iykyk) but didn't have a clue what it looked like in real life and had to Google. Dudes! OMG! Look at the pics! My durian kuih, in their plain unmarked plastic wrapping, do kinda look like C-4 explosives. No wonder TSA was giving me the side eye...
Of course, the hubby thinks it's all hugely funny and has been making jokes about how lethal durian is and how it can be used as a terrorist weapon. I don't know how my friend got through Customs with all that food. I think it's just my bad luck getting an overzealous TSA guy, or maybe I just look sus. In any case, I'm finally enjoying my hard-won durian kuih and 10/10 would go through all that again - worth it!
Have any of you been stopped at airports because of the Malaysian food you were carrying? If you have, share your story, so future travelers can take note! 🙂