Indian-origin YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss detained, strip-searched by US officials

Indian-origin YouTuber Arun Rupesh Maini, popular as MrWhoseTheBoss, said he was detained, strip-searched and deported by US border authorities to the UK during a work trip years ago. His description of the 26-hour ordeal triggered widespread sympathy online.

London-based Indian-origin YouTuber Arun Rupesh Maini, popularly known by his YouTube persona, MrWhoseTheBoss, has revealed that he was detained, strip-searched and deported to the UK by US border authorities during a work trip several years ago. Maini said on Wednesday that the traumatic experience still affects his travel to the US.

In an interview with the esports and gaming outlet, Dexerto, the British-Indian creator, who has over 22.5 million subscribers and is known for his tech review videos, said he had travelled to the United States after receiving a $300,000 offer to cover the construction of a high-tech stadium project.

Recalling the assignment, Maini said it remains the "biggest offer" that he had ever received, but one he was unable to fulfil. "So this isn’t the biggest offer I have turned down. This is the biggest offer I was never able to make," he told Dexerto, explaining that he had been excited about the opportunity before being stopped at immigration upon arrival in the US.

According to Maini, border officials at the US airport he landed at questioned him about the purpose of his visit before taking him aside for additional screening. "They said, 'What are you here for?' and then, 'Come this way,'" he recalled, describing the moment he realised he would not be allowed to proceed normally through immigration.

MRWHOSETHEBOSS DETAINED, STRIP-SEARCHED IN THE US

Maini said officers confiscated his phone and placed him in a back room, leaving him unable to contact the sponsors who were waiting for him outside the airport. He claimed that after several hours, the questioning became more aggressive and intimidating.

"After a couple of hours, it started to become really accusatory," he said. "Eventually they took me into a deeper room I was scared at this point. All the guards were armed."

He further alleged that officials later subjected him to a strip search before placing him in a holding cell for several hours without communication. Describing the experience, Maini said: "They actually took all my clothes off and felt around in all sorts of ways. Very violating stuff, let's just say that."

Cut off from his family and colleagues during the detention, he said he felt completely isolated. "I had no ability to contact anyone. Family had no idea where I was. I remember just feeling inhuman."

After spending around 26 hours in detention, Maini said he was deported from the US without being allowed to complete the assignment. According to him, authorities only returned his phone after the deportation flight had already taken off, allowing him to finally contact his family.

SUPPORT POURS IN FOR MAINI AFTER HE REVEALS ORDEAL IN US

The revelations prompted an outpouring of support and outrage in the comments section of the interview uploaded on Dexerto's YouTube channel, with many viewers describing the experience as traumatic and dehumanising.

"That story about customs is so horrific and disgusting," one viewer commented.

Another viewer commented, "So US customs completely violated Arun and robbed him from $300,000?"

Others said the account overshadowed the rest of the interview. "I like how most of the video is chill and then there is the US customs part," one person wrote, while another said, "Reached the video’s end and I am still thinking about his story of interrogation in USA".

Several commenters also questioned the treatment Maini received at the border. "I have heard this customs story from many people. It’s genuinely concerning," one user wrote.

Maini told Dexerto that the incident has continued to affect his travel experience in the US. "Every single time I go to the US now, I get taken to a second room because this black mark is next to my name," he said, referring to repeated secondary screening and questioning during subsequent visits.

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