Polish services thwarted the smuggling of 57 pieces of protected peyote cacti hidden inside teddy bears.
As reported by the National Revenue Administration (KAS), a Tax and Customs Service officer on duty at a Warsaw branch was inspecting shipments from Asia and referred three of them for a detailed search following an X-ray scan.
The packages, sent from Thailand, were supposed to contain home decorations worth €5 and reach a recipient in Poland.
It turned out, however, that each of them contained a teddy bear with plant cuttings hidden inside.
After consultation with the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) representative, it was determined that the plants belonged to cacti of the genus Lophophora williamsii and were under the treaty’s protection.
These plants are primarily found in the northern part of Mexico and the southern states of the U.S. that border the country. They are very rare and grow extremely slowly, often taking up to 30 years before they bloom.
“One of the species… is a natural source of mescaline, a substance with psychoactive properties,” the CITES representative said.
The import or export of CITES specimens is prohibited - unless the person carrying them has the appropriate permits and certificates. The shipments from Asia were not accompanied by any, so the three teddy bears, which contained a total of 57 cacti, were secured as material evidence in the criminal case. Attempted smuggling can be punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.
The plants were donated to the Botanical Garden of the University of Warsaw.
The packages, sent from Thailand, were supposed to contain home decorations worth €5 and reach a recipient in Poland.
It turned out, however, that each of them contained a teddy bear with plant cuttings hidden inside.
After consultation with the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) representative, it was determined that the plants belonged to cacti of the genus Lophophora williamsii and were under the treaty’s protection.
These plants are primarily found in the northern part of Mexico and the southern states of the U.S. that border the country. They are very rare and grow extremely slowly, often taking up to 30 years before they bloom.
The import or export of CITES specimens is prohibited - unless the person carrying them has the appropriate permits and certificates. The shipments from Asia were not accompanied by any, so the three teddy bears, which contained a total of 57 cacti, were secured as material evidence in the criminal case. Attempted smuggling can be punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.
The plants were donated to the Botanical Garden of the University of Warsaw.
Source: Warszawa.tvp.pl, KAS
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