Texas special cell battles to save rare desert beauty from smuggling gangs

The US special cell has caught a smuggling gang red-handed on the US-Mexico border; surprisingly, this time it is not drugs. According to international media reports, the smugglers were trafficking “living rock cactus”, a protected species that's a cousin to peyote, which grows on the arid plains of Big Bend national park situated in Texas. Karen Little, a botanist who specialises in conservation, reportedly said that they are not some typical cacti but are very soft and pushy. Little added that these plants take a long time to grow and mature and are vulnerable because feral hogs feed on their roots. 

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4,000 plants seized

Phillip Land, the special agent in charge of the US Fish and Wildlife Service reportedly said that it is a very rare plant species and is highly sought after in Europe and Asia. Thus, it also attracts many organised crime. As per reports, the team seized around 4,000 of the rare plants. Land said that it is in demand due to its hallucinatory qualities and horticulturalists who collect and show off these plants. Land reportedly said that his team at the US Fish and Wildlife Service is gaining proper skills to nab the poachers. He added that if an agent doubts suspicious activities, they go undercover, posing as tourists, to get as close as possible to the smugglers. 

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