LYNDEN, Wash. - A practical joke shut down U.S.-Canadian border crossing for nearly four hours just as the weekend was getting under way. A 42-year-old man was stopped at the border around 4:40 p.m. Friday. During an inspection of his vehicle, "a crude device thought to be an explosive" was found under a seat, Corporal Dale Carr of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a news release. The inspection area and a duty-free shop were immediately evacuated, spokeswoman Paula Shore with the Canadian Border Services Agency said. The RCMP closed southbound Highway 13, and, at Canada's request, U.S. officials closed their side of the border to vehicles northbound on Highway 539.Investigators subsequently determined that the "suspicious device" was harmless, Carr said. Turns out the man's co-workers in Olympia had put ball bearings into a metal tube and crimped the ends. They placed the device in his vehicle to annoy him, the idea being that "it would create a rattle that the driver would find difficult to locate," he said. The man was questioned and released. He will not face charges, Carr said. It will be up to U.S. authorities to decide whether his co-workers face charges, Shore said. "It's not a good idea to play practical jokes at the border," said Shore, clearly not amused.
