I agree. I work with assorted federal drones, and have no troubling imagining all sorts of nincompoopery; but, as you said, the details seem a bit off re the piano. I can’t find any thing to substantiate his story that “the TSA … destroyed the instrument,” other than an earlier (also unsubstantiated and well-after the fact) reference by him to a piano of his having been “confiscated for five days [at JFK] … and returned with some broken keys.” So….

The DHS family is target enough one needn’t so readily swallow “DURR glue smells funny DURR SMASH” hook, line, and sinker.

And, re the flutes, there’s an update at FP: “In an e-mail exchange with NPR Music, a Customs official says no musical instruments were involved in the CPB’s actions….The story indicates that fresh bamboo was found in the luggage separate from Razgui’s 11 flutes. However, when American Airlines eventually delivered Razgui’s luggage, it did not contain the flutes.”