I have been through customs on many occasions due to me traveling out of the country for work. And for some reason I get pulled for a search 90% of the time. If you could disguise it as something legit I would say that you have nothing to worry about. When they go through my stuff it has always been just a quick look through, i guess to make sure that I am not carrying massive loads of coke or weed. I have went through customs with Cuban cigars and other things that I was not suppose to bring back. They never seen them or just over looked it.

So my opinion is that if you can disguise it some how you should be fine,. Might not be able to bring all the gear back that way, but at least it would not be a total loss.