BBC News - Dutch police question two men on trans-Atlantic flight
Security staff found one mobile phone taped to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, three other mobile phones taped together and several watches, also taped together. A box-cutter and three large knives were also found, ABC said.
But the man was cleared for travel, as no explosives were found, the US network said, quoting officials.
Once at Chicago, one of the pair checked his luggage on to a flight for Yemen but boarded the flight to Amsterdam,
NBC News reported that US concern about the latest incident was "low", but the authorities wanted to make sure this was not an attempt to test airline security prior to a future attack.
He said his cousin had probably been taking electronic equipment and medication back home and had simply taped together items intended for the same recipient.