THE BAD SEED CASE FILE
Repeat and serious offenders can be prosecuted
CASE 1: imported hop seeds
A Hamilton woman, who had been importing seeds since 2002, pleaded guilty to three charges under the Biosecurity Act in August 2020 after selling hop seeds on TradeMe without obtaining the required import permit.
Parcels of other seeds she ordered, intercepted by BNZ, were labelled as gifts or small toys. The seed packets inside were either incorrectly labelled or didn't display the scientific name of the plant. When investigators searched her home, they found more prohibited seed varieties and others that required permits and strict quarantine conditions for six months after sowing.
Result: $4000 fine (maximum penalty was 5 years in prison or a $100,000 fine). Source: www.stuff.co.nz, Mail intercepted, search warrant obtained for pensioner's biosecurity breaches with seeds
Biosecurity NZ's Surveillance magazine gives regular updates on actions taken by its investigation team.
CASE 2: incorrectly declared seeds
The International Mail Centre (IMC) notified MPI about a gardener who had received 11 packets of wrongly declared seeds from an importer flagged as a repeat offender. The gardener voluntarily surrendered several imported seeds that were in breach of import standards. Result: education, no legal action taken.
Source: Surveillance magazine
CASE 3: Pink Princess Tradescantia Pink Princess was offered for sale online. Investigators determined it was the banned T. fluminensis after checking its DNA. MPI informed the retailer that selling the plants was a breach of sections 52 and 53 of the Biosecurity Act. The retailer told investigators they destroyed all their stock once they were aware (through social media) that the plant couldn't be sold in NZ.
Source: Surveillance magazine
CASE 4: edible seeds from Wish A member of the public alerted MPI to a Facebook posting about someone growing illegally imported seeds.
An investigation found that 44 packets of ‘edible seeds' had been ordered from the Chinese online store Wish, but only one seed line sprouted. It was supposed to be sugarcane, but the plant that grew didn't look like it.
The buyer sought advice from a plant hobbyist group on Facebook. Members warned of the biosecurity risk posed by imported seeds.
Investigators were told the packet description was in Chinese script, and the buyer was unsure what it said or whether botanical names were provided.
MPI had warned the buyer before about other non-compliant seed imports that had been seized at the Auckland International Mail Centre.
The buyer's explanation for planting these seeds was that “since they were delivered, they must have undergone biosecurity clearance at the border”.
All the plants were destroyed.
Source: Surveillance magazine
CASE 5: money plant seeds
A member of the public reported a TradeMe auction for seeds of the Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides). P. peperomioides is deemed a “new to
New Zealand organism” under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 and can't be traded.
TradeMe withdrew the auction when it was alerted to the listing.
An investigator who visited the seller at an Auckland property seized three plants. More information led to the seizure of 41 more plants from a Whangarei property and another five from a third property. Source: Surveillance magazine
What happens to bad seeds?
Biosecurity NZ investigators organise the destruction of packets of seeds, plants, and any potted plants originating from noncompliant imports.
A first importation of non-compliant risk goods normally leads to an educational letter. Repeat or serious offenders can be prosecuted. The Biosecurity Act 1993 allows for a maximum penalty of five years' jail, or a fine of up to $100,000.