Guitar News - Gibson Raided by Agents

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents at Nashville Factory

 

UPDATE: Due to some of my readers personal opinions as of late. I feel I need to do an update. There have been ongoing discussions all over about what actually happened at the Gibson factory raids. Some have even stated that Gibson is lying about how the raids were done. The most "hate" I have gotten here is for my use of SWAT photos (these are not photos from the raids in question). However Gibson have indeed stated that agents with automatic weapons raided the factory, and nothing of this have been denied by anyone. Although some of you continue to ignore this.. Anyhow this is an interesting video that sheads more light on this situation.

Here is a interview with the Gibson CEO by youtube user lesleyblooddotcom


Transcribed first minutes of video:

lesleyblooddotcom: How did this start, how did the problems with the federal government start here. You're awareness of them.

CEO: Well the first, we knew we had a problem was in November 2009. When we were having a key executive retreat and we got a call that homeland security was raiding our guitar factory. And at first we thought it was a practical joke, but the panic in peoples vioces told me that, you know it was for real. So I immediately jumped in my car and went down to the factory. And sure enough there were, you know. Several dussin of SWAT attired people with automatic weapons and bullet proof wests. And they had evacuated the plant made all the employees stand out in the parking lot. They had grabbed several of the employees, put them in small interrogation rooms with 4-5 armed people and were verbally, you know intimidating them. And then they went about and confiscated, you know almost a half million dollars of worth of wood and some guitars. And you know they wouldn't tell us why. I personally went up to agents and said what is this about, why are you here and what do you want. And their response is we cant tell you that is sealed. And so that's the most we knew for months. We still...

lesleyblooddotcom: You had no communication this was, this just came out of the blue??

CEO: No warning, no we are doing something wrong, no we are having a problem. You know it was just an ordinary day and all of a sudden we are treated like drug criminals..

For more have a look at the rest of the video interview with the Gibson CEO.

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News of interest today is this story. Gibson Guitars have been raided by federal agents. And it's not the first time either. It turns out this is the second time in less than two years that Gibson have gotten a unsuspected visit from the law.

Well what could Gibson have done to get this kind of treatment you might ask. It turns out that in order to make a guitar like Gibson do, you need good quality wood. That wood part is pretty obviouse. However some woods are illegal to use, and the sad thing is. Woods that make for great acoustics in guitars are illegal to use.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents had suspected Gibson of smuggling some of these illegal woods from India in order to make the fretboards for their guitars. The agents seized stock from Gibson's Nashville factory, woods seized included rosewood, and ebony. But that's not all they seized as well as other items travel records, shipping documents, guitars and hard drives.

This is what Gibson have on their site about the matter:

The Federal Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. has suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. (If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal.) This action was taken without the support and consent of the government in India.


On August 24, 2011, around 8:45 a.m. CDT, agents for the federal government executed four search warrants on Gibson’s facilities in Nashville and Memphis and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. Gibson had to cease its manufacturing operations and send workers home for the day, while armed agents executed the search warrants. Gibson has fully cooperated with the execution of the search warrants.

The wood the Government seized on August 24 is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier and is FSC Controlled, meaning that the wood complies with the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council, which is an industry-recognized and independent, not-for-profit organization established to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. FSC Controlled Wood standards require, among other things, that the wood not be illegally harvested and not be harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights.

In 2009, more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons invaded the Gibson factory in Nashville. The Government seized guitars and a substantial amount of ebony fingerboard blanks from Madagascar. To date, 1 year and 9 months later, criminal charges have NOT been filed, yet the Government still holds Gibson’s property. Gibson has obtained sworn statements and documents from the Madagascar government and these materials, which have been filed in federal court, show that the wood seized in 2009 was legally exported under Madagascar law and that no law has been violated. Gibson is attempting to have its property returned in a civil proceeding that is pending in federal court.

Wow that sure is something reading that, imagine you sit there at you're workbench someday building a guitar.. All of a sudden BANG door flies open in comes a bunch of agents with machineguns and yelling, GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR, GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR.. FEDERAL AGENTS.. And you look up and have a couple of gun barrels pointing at you're face. Better not move, you might get you're head blown off over a matter of wood.


Well that might not be what happened but we all have seen the movies, reality shows with these kinds of raids. I would not like having guns pointed at me. And I don't care if it's federal agents.