Woman in New Zealand found with nearly 1,000 cacti & succulents strapped to body

A woman has been sentenced in New Zealand after she was found trying to smuggle nearly 1,000 cacti and succulents strapped to her body. In a notable incident, Wenqing Li, known as Wendy pleaded guilty at the Manukau district court to two different charges of violating biosecurity laws and attempting to smuggle plants from China. In a statement, the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries on February 3 said that an Auckland woman has been sentenced to intensive supervision for 12 months and 100 hours. The authorities said that she was a seller and trader of succulents and cacti on an online platform TradeMe.

In March 2019, the 38-year-old who resides in New Zealand had tried to smuggle 947 succulents and cacti by stuffing them inside stockings and strapping them on her body. These plants were reportedly worth over $10,000 and they even included eight endangered and threatened species. However, when Li was noticed by a detector dog on arrival at Auckland international airport, she attempted to dispose of them in the toilets, where MPI said, “a large amount of plant material was found”.

MPI said in a statement, “After being noticed by a detector dog, Ms Li tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her offending by disposing of items in the airport toilets. MPI officers prevented the evidence being destroyed and conducted a full search of the toilet area where a large amount of plant material was found, including 3 stockings filled with succulents and cacti in one of the rubbish bins inside the men's toilet.”

Furthermore, in a separate offence on July 23, 2019, Li was found with 142  unauthorised seeds hidden in commercially packaged iPad covers in her luggage along with more than 200 plant pots and garden ornaments wrapped in mouldy wet paper. These plant pots even contained a snail and pieces of tree fern stem

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MPI regional team manager hails Li’s arrest

Welcoming Li’simprisonment, MPI regional team manager compliance investigations north, Simon Anderson said, “This sentencing serves as a good reminder that anyone who smuggles plants or other endangered species into New Zealand can expect to be prosecuted. It's important to remember that bringing unauthorised plants into the country by any method, whether smuggling through the border in person or receiving products by mail, puts New Zealand's biosecurity at risk.”

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