A woman was sentenced in New Zealand after being caught trying to smuggle around 1,000 cacti and succulents tied to her body.
Wenqing Li, known as Wendy, pleaded guilty in the Manukau district court to charges against two separate violations of biosafety laws in an attempt to bring plants from China.
In March 2019, the 38-year-old Auckland woman attempted to smuggle 947 succulents and cacti into her socks and tie them to her body. The plants were worth more than $ 10,000 and included eight endangered species.
When Li was spotted by a detector dog on arrival at Auckland International Airport, she tried to dispose of the trash in the bathrooms, where – the Ministry of Primary Industries said in a statement – “a lot of plant material was found”.
Li intended to sell succulents and cacti – which would have “high commercial value” – on the TradeMe online market.
In a separate incident in July 2019, Li discovered that he had 142 unauthorized seeds hidden in iPad cases commercially packaged in his luggage – as well as more than 200 potted plants, one of which contained a snail.
On Wednesday, Li was sentenced to 12 months of intensive supervision and 100 hours of community work.
Simon Anderson, manager of investigations at the Ministry of Primary Industries, said the sentence was “a good reminder that anyone who smuggles endangered plants or other species into New Zealand can expect to be prosecuted.”
“Our economy and way of life depends on keeping these threats out of the country.”