E-Paper
Indian-origin YouTuber detained, strip-searched, deported from the US: ‘Very violating’
Indian-origin British YouTuber Arun Rupesh Maini has revealed that he was detained and strip-searched after landing in the United States a few years ago.
Prefer HTon Google
An Indian-origin British YouTuber has revealed that he was detained and strip-searched after landing in the United States a few years ago. Arun Rupesh Maini, popularly known by his YouTube moniker MrWhoseTheBoss, opened up about the disturbing incident during an interview with Dexerto, saying that it still affects the way he travels to the US.
Who is Arun Rupesh Maini?
Arun Rupesh Maini is an English YouTuber who is best known for his technology-related content. He is better known by his YouTube name, MrWhoseTheBoss. The 30-year-old has over 22.5 million subscribers on YouTube, where his videos include topics like smartphone reviews, gadget tests etc.
What happened with Maini in the US?
During an interview with gaming and tech news website Dexerto, Maini revealed that he was once detained and strip-searched in the United States.
The incident occurred when the Indian-origin, UK-born YouTuber was invited to cover the construction of a high-tech stadium project in the US. He received $300,000 for the coverage. Maini said it remains the "biggest offer" he ever received, but he wasn’t able to fulfil it.
In the clip, Maini explained that he was excited about the assignment. However, his excitement turned sour when he flew to the US and was swiftly detained by US Border Patrol.
(Also read: Indian woman detained for 8 hours at US airport: ‘Checked by male officer, stripped’)
The Indian-origin YouTuber was strip-searched and detained for 26 hours before he was deported back to the UK.
Strip-searched in the US
Remembering the incident, Maini said: “Flew to the US. I got interviewed by the Border Patrol… So they took me to a back room, and they said ‘You can’t take your phone out’.”
He recalled being taken to a dark room and strip-searched upon landing. “So I had all these people like the sponsors waiting for me, and I couldn’t tell them that I’d been pulled into this room,” he said.
“They [the Border Patrol] started to become really accusatory. And eventually, they took me into a deeper room. I was scared at this point. All the guards were armed. They took me into a cell, took all my clothes off, and felt around in all sorts of ways,” the Indian-origin YouTuber revealed.
Maini described the experience as “very violating”.
26 hours in detention, then deportation
Eventually, he was allowed to put his clothes on again. “But they still didn’t give me my phone,” he added.
Maini spent 26 hours in detention. He was not allowed to contact his family and they had no idea where he was. After more than a day spent in confinement, he was put on a plane back to the UK.
“I got deported,” he told Dexerto. “And they didn’t even give me my phone till the flight had taken off.”
It was only after the flight had taken off that Maini was able to contact his family and tell them that he was okay. He says that still today, the experience colours his travel to the US.
“Every single time I travel to the US now, I get taken to a second room, I get interviewed because there’s this black mark next to my name,” he said.
