Seen something unusual? MAKE A REPORT
A woman who admitted smuggling plants in the post will have to pay $8000 ($5000 in fines and a $3000 donation to charity) and do 200 hours of community service.
The culprit pleaded guilty however, as she was discharged without conviction in August, she cannot be named or identified.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) started looking into her importing practices after intercepting an incorrectly declared parcel containing eight live plants. She later admitted to using different names and addresses to import several consignments of plant material.
A scan of records showed officers at Auckland’s International Mail Centre had intercepted various packages intended for her and had provided information on how to correctly import plant material. This evidence clearly didn’t help her case. Neither did the 13 unauthorised plants that were seized from her address during the execution of the search warrant.
Biosecurity New Zealand enforces all requirements. Any report of kiwifruit plants grown from unapproved imports will be investigated. Please contact the pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66 if you are aware of any unapproved kiwifruit seed imports.
KVH investigates reports of unusual symptoms to identify and manage any biosecurity risks.
The KVH portal is now the Zespri Weather & Disease Portal. Access all the weather tools you're familiar with.