US: Customers order jewellery from China, receive 'mysterious' seed packets instead

Residents in at least six US states have received unsolicited seed packages labelled as 'jewellery' from China. Reacting to the mysterious delivery of the seed packets agriculture officials warned that the seeds could be environmentally harmful. The large number of residents who received the seed packets are from Washington, Virginia, Utah, Kansas, Arizona and Louisiana. They were sent in small packages in the mail with labels suggesting they were sent from China.

Some of the packages received by the residents had Chinese writing printed on the labels and were misbranded as various pieces of 'jewellery'. The address on the packages showed that they were sent from the city of Suzhou in the Jiangsu providence of East China.

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Unsolicited seeds could be invasive: officials

The Washington state department of agriculture informed they received reports about residents receiving seeds in the mail from China that they did not order on July 24.

'The seeds were sent in packages usually stating that the contents are jewellery. Unsolicited seeds could be invasive, introduce diseases to local plants, or be harmful to livestock,' the department said in a Facebook post. The officials further said that this act is known as 'agricultural smuggling' and people should notify the U.S. Department of Agriculture for further instructions if they receive more of such unsolicited seed packets.

"DO NOT plant them and if they are in sealed packaging don't open the sealed package," the officials warned.

The photos shared to Facebook showed that one resident received two packages of seeds that were labelled as a 'bracelet' and a 'ring'. in a resealable plastic bag.

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A similar incident was reported in the United Kingdom where hundreds of gardeners received unsolicited deliveries of garden seeds sent from China marked as 'ear studs'. The seed packages have been posted to customers who previously made seed purchases through sites such as Amazon Marketplace and eBay. The Horticulturalists have issued a warning after the gardeners.

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US residents receive mysterious packets of seeds labelled as Jewellery from China