If he didn't have the proper documentation or follow the rules, he's only got himself to blame. We'll have to wait for the whole story to come out.
If YOU had read the article then you would have known from the lack of detail it wasn't clear exactly what happened or why. The musician in question didn't seem to fight the customs agent which suggests to me that he acknowledged he had made a mistake.
You should also know from reading the article that it didn't say customs broke his instruments; they confiscated them (for destruction). But hey, it sounds a lot more exciting and outrageous to say they broke them.
I guess you mindlessly sided against the government. Chill out.