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Man Gets 2 Years in Prison for Stealing Plants Worth $150,000 From California State Parks
KSBW ^ | Jan 27, 2022 | Amy Graff

Posted on 01/28/2022 1:26:31 PM PST by nickcarraway

A man was sentenced to two years in federal prison last week for attempting to export at least $150,000 worth of wild succulents that he poached from native habitats in Northern California state parks, the United States Justice Department said, SFGate.com reported.

On Oct. 11, 2018, Byungsu Kim, 46, and co-defendants Youngin Back, 47, and Bong Jun Kim, 46, traveled by car from Los Angeles International Airport to Crescent City, Calif., with plans to harvest wild plants and smuggle them to South Korea, the department said in a statement Jan. 20. Throughout October 2018, they pulled plants from the ground at DeMartin State Beach in Klamath, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park in Crescent City and Russian Gulch State Park in Mendocino County, the department said. The Dudleya plants — a type of succulent with a pretty rose shape that grows along coastal cliffs — were then brought to a nursery operated by Kim in Vista, a town near San Diego.

Because growing Dudleyas in nurseries takes years, smugglers are known to harvest wild, living plants from the ground in Northern California and export them overseas where they are sold on the black market.

Byungsu Kim scheduled an inspection with a county agriculture official at the Vista nursery and "falsely told her the government-issued certificate necessary for the plants’ exportation should list 1,397 Dudleya plants for export to South Korea and that the 'place of origin' of the plants was San Diego County," the department said.

The thieves then transported the plants to a commercial exporter in Compton to smuggle their haul to South Korea, but the effort was stopped by local law enforcement who obtained a search warrant and found 3,715 poached Dudleya plants in boxes that were labeled “rush” and “live plants,” the department said.

(Excerpt) Read more at ksbw.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: flora; stateparks; succulents
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1 posted on 01/28/2022 1:26:31 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Ping


2 posted on 01/28/2022 1:26:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

I’m glad California has its priorities right.

Murder, mugging, mayhem, thievery, smash-and-grab, car jacking — no charges!

But steal some plants!? Throw the book at ‘em!


3 posted on 01/28/2022 1:32:00 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (81 million votes...and NOT ONE "Build Back Better" hat)
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To: nickcarraway
I'm still amazed by how people manage to steal saguaro cactus in the Desert Southwest.
4 posted on 01/28/2022 1:32:44 PM PST by fwdude (My pronouns are "Let's, Go, and Brandon." Use them when addressing me or else. )
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To: nickcarraway

That’s a lot of work for a plant that looks like a weed.


5 posted on 01/28/2022 1:34:05 PM PST by lodi90
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To: lodi90
But it is an almost semi-attractive weed. Eh?


6 posted on 01/28/2022 1:38:49 PM PST by GaltAdonis (As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide. Abe Lincoln)
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To: nickcarraway

UNFAIR

the state should have had price tags on each plant

to enable the thief to keep his take down to the California-approved $950 limit each time he stole more, to avoid punishment


7 posted on 01/28/2022 1:46:03 PM PST by faithhopecharity (“Politicians are not born. They’re excreted.” Marcus Tillius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: lodi90

“That’s a lot of work for a plant that looks like a weed.”

It’s a small and slow growing plant that requires precious little care. It’s perfect for the majority of South Koreans who live in absurdly small apartments.

Thus the demand and I am sure the retail value of these plants in the SK market exceeds US$1 million.


8 posted on 01/28/2022 2:11:44 PM PST by MercyFlush (DANGER: You are being conditioned to view your freedom as selfish)
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To: MercyFlush

Probably makes a decent kimchi, too.


9 posted on 01/28/2022 2:22:47 PM PST by lodi90
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To: nickcarraway

Deep state inflated b.s.


10 posted on 01/28/2022 2:26:15 PM PST by George from New England
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https://www.etsy.com/market/dudleya_seeds


11 posted on 01/28/2022 2:29:23 PM PST by deport
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To: fwdude

How many do?


12 posted on 01/28/2022 2:29:55 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

It’s been a huge problem from what I’ve read. Also, thefts of saquaro cacti from people’s front yards (probably stolen once before.)


13 posted on 01/28/2022 2:33:05 PM PST by fwdude (If a fraudulent election falls in the woods and no judge is around to hear it, did it fall?)
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To: lodi90

“Probably makes a decent kimchi, too.”

“Decent” and “kimchi” in the same sentence? LOL!


14 posted on 01/28/2022 2:34:39 PM PST by MercyFlush (DANGER: You are being conditioned to view your freedom as selfish)
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To: nickcarraway

Hmmmm. Apparently it’s still illegal to steal from the government in California.


15 posted on 01/28/2022 3:02:40 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: nickcarraway
A man was sentenced to two years in federal prison last week for attempting to export at least $150,000 worth of wild succulents that he poached from native habitats in Northern California state parks,

Meanwhile, the Jan 6 guy wearing the Buffalo hat was sentenced to 41 months (3.4 years) for trespassing (while carrying the American Flag).

The two don't exactly add up to justice.

16 posted on 01/28/2022 3:47:45 PM PST by libertylover (Our BIGGEST problem, by far, is that most of the media is hate & agenda driven, not truth driven.)
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To: nickcarraway

Cali is seriously monitoring their border to protect their plants. We were croosing between Oregon and cli when we were stopped by an agriculture agent or something. He,asked if we had any produce or fruit. I tolh him i probably had some lettuce in my teeth from taco bell. He was not amused and my hubby was laughing. I thought that uptight produce enforcer was going to arrest me.
So if the lettuce crop was ruined in 2015... i did that. They do not believe in produce diversity and inclusion.


17 posted on 01/28/2022 4:41:48 PM PST by momincombatboots (Ephesians 6... who you are really at war with. )
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To: lodi90
That’s a lot of work for a plant that looks like a weed.

Weed is right. My wife is into growing and collecting succulents/cactus plants. She plants small items in planter pots or in our yard, and a few months later they've grown to enormous size with very little care, just like weeds. When they bloom with flower stalks, they're pleasant to look at. It's a hobby she shares with friends and some neighbors. No one should think about stealing plants, just ask around and people will donate some plants - that's how she got all of her initial succulents.

18 posted on 01/28/2022 6:16:30 PM PST by roadcat
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To: nickcarraway

If he just went to lowes or home depot they’d have let him walk out with them no problem.


19 posted on 01/28/2022 6:18:45 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway

He should have just shoplifted $999 from walgreens 200 times....he’d be in the clear and then some....


20 posted on 01/28/2022 6:22:52 PM PST by DouglasKC
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