California Succulent Trafficking

A sucrose trade has been revealed by US Environmental Protection Officers in California.
AFP / Archives - ROBYN BECK

Thousands of succulents are ripped off by smugglers on the California coast. They are then sent to Asia where they serve as decoration.

It all starts with the arrest at a post office in California of a man preparing to send dozens of packages filled with succulents to China. This allowed US environmental protection officers to trace an international smuggling network. It tore plants from the cliffs of the California coast to ship to Asia, where they are used as decoration. "The smugglers are flying to the United States just to take these plants, so they can send them to Korea, China or Japan ," said Captain Patrick Foy of the California Protection Agency. They tear them off the ground and sell them for between $ 40 and $ 50 each .

Several suspects have been arrested in this criminal-botanical case, including two South Koreans and a Chinese. The three men, aged 37 to 52, were apprehended as they were preparing to ship 1334 plants across the Pacific. Indicted for several serious crimes and minor offenses, they must appear before a judge on May 16th. If found guilty, they face nine years in prison and high fines. Two other similar cases are currently being handled by US justice.

Thousands of plants dug up

A succulent plant in particular attracts the attention of smugglers. This is the Dudleya farinosa . It looks like an artichoke and grows on the rugged coastlines of northern California and neighboring Oregon. According to Captain Foy, "thousands and thousands" of these succulents were unearthed last year, in 2017, before being packaged in newsprint and sent by post. The smugglers "seem to aim for places with little traffic, places where you can park and walk several hundred meters without being seen by many people," he says.

At this rate, the authorities fear that the plant, also known as "cliff lettuce", will end up on the list of endangered species. The risks to the environment are indeed not negligible. "Smugglers are tearing them out of their natural habitat and trampling on other plants in the process ," says Stephen McCabe, Emeritus Director of Research at the California University of Santa Cruz Arboretum. nature and tear everything off on these cliffs " .

The plant, which can continue to grow for years once potted, would be very popular in China because of its resemblance to the lotus flower. But from there to provide so much effort to get them, there is a step that seems to challenge Captain Foy. "Frankly, I do not understand why they are so special, there are lots of other beautiful succulents that can be bought for five dollars in a nursery," he says. And that in all legality.

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