‘A You Problem’: Navy, Customs Demand Service Members Stop Shipping Butt Plugs to Bahrain Base
The owners of a Toronto-based sex toy store have received multiple stern letters from the U.S. Navy. The issue: certain NSFW orders linked to a military base in Bahrain keep running afoul of the country’s customs laws.
The subject line on the most recent letter said it all: “Adult items Identified during X-ray Mail Screening [sic].”
The letter arrived stuffed inside a heavily inspected package. Officials had done much more than X-ray it. Someone had opened the box, broken sanitary seals, removed the item, and then haphazardly repacked it with a notice on official Department of Defense stationery.
“During security screening by Bahrain Customs, pornographic materials and or devices were identified in a package addressed to you. This letter is to notify you that your parcel was returned to the sender.” — Department of the Navy
Bonjibon’s founders did not specify the exact item. However, they bluntly summarized the letter’s contents as: “stop sending butt plugs to Bahrain.”
Why Bahrain customs keeps rejecting the packages
Bahrain is an island nation in the Persian Gulf with strict laws banning the import of pornography and sex toys. Bonjibon does not ship to Bahrain directly.
The likely explanation is that someone ordered the item to a U.S. military address. The package was then forwarded to the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, where local customs intercepted it.
Bahrain officials objected. A flustered Pentagon official just read the return address and sent the package to Canada with a warning letter enclosed. But that letter would have been more effective if sent to the service member who placed the order.
Instead, when the item never arrived, the buyer apparently placed another order.
Bonjibon soon received a second returned package. It came with another stern letter. The company’s founders framed both notices and hung them in their office.
Co-founder Grace Bennett said, “I don’t know why they’re sending me very cross letters saying, ‘Stop sending items that could cause bodily harm to this country.’” She joked, “This sounds like a you problem.” Bennett suggested the Navy do more to educate servicemembers on what is and is not allowed in Bahrain. You can see Bennett interviewed in the video below:
