A Toronto-based sex toy store received not one but two unexpected letters from the U.S. Pentagon—found inside boxes of returned adult products that had somehow ended up at a U.S. naval base in Bahrain.
The letters arrived about a month apart during the summer, said Bonjibon co-founder Grace Bennett, who described the situation as both surprising and funny.
The store did not knowingly ship anything to Bahrain. Bennett said the items were likely sent to a U.S. military base and then forwarded to someone stationed there, even though Bonjibon does not ship directly to Bahrain due to strict import laws.
Bonjibon once shipped worldwide after launching in 2019, but now limits where it sends products because many countries ban certain adult items.
This past year, Bennett said her business faced frequent returns as new U.S. tariffs and border changes caused packages to be delayed or sent back. While sorting through returned parcels, staff noticed one box had been opened, its seal broken, and a letter inside bearing the U.S. Department of Defense seal, now renamed the Department of War.
The letter, sent by a U.S. naval logistics office in Bahrain, said the package was rejected after customs officials found pornographic material during screening. It warned that such items are illegal in Bahrain and must not be shipped there.
Bennett said the letters were likely meant for the military members who ordered the items, not the store itself.
“We don’t judge what people buy,” Bennett said, noting the irony of someone ordering products that are banned in the country where they are stationed.
The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment. U.S. military guidelines confirm that sex toys and other adult materials are strictly prohibited under Bahrain law.
Customers were refunded for their orders, Bennett said. The company has since framed the two letters and displayed them in its Toronto and B.C. offices as a reminder of the unusual situation.
