Cycad dealers nabbed in US
2001-07-23 21:54
Pretoria - Five South Africans who allegedly illegally traded in South African cycad plants have been arrested by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Las Vegas.
The four men and one of their wives were remanded on Thursday last week after the dealer they thought they were bartering with apparently turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.
The plants are understood to have been shipped to the US via Singapore.
One of the alleged traders, a Johannesburg landscape architect, appeared in court in 1998 for possession of one of the particular plant species. Two encephalartos laevifolius plants - one a rare cycad tree - with a street value of about R13 500 are among items allegedly found in his possession.
The president of the Cycad Society of South Africa, Dr Piet Vorster, says that as far as he knew, none of the accused were members of that society. He stressed that trade in cycad plants "is totally unacceptable".
"One of the cornerstones of the association is the preservation of cycad trees, among others by growing them from seed. It is possible to obtain a sturdy plant inside a year.
"It is also the case that there are people who want nothing less than to cultivate a tree, but then there is the plundering of natural and sustainable colonies."
"There is no justification for such behaviour," Vorster said.