South Korean plant trafficker jailed in US

A man of nationality South Korean who traveled the world stealing hundreds of expensive plants to smuggle them to Asia was jailed in U.S Thursday.

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Kim Byungsu acknowledged extracting succulents valued at about $150,000 from parks in Northern California.

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Dudleyas, a type of succulent that grows in a circular shape and resembles an artichoke, is native to coastal Oregon and northern California.

It is popular in East Asia, where it is used for decoration.

Kim and his accomplices uprooted thousands of succulents from various state parks in 2018, and packaged them claiming they had been purchased legally in San Diego, according to a Los Angeles court hearing.

The shipment was intercepted before it left the United States.

Kim was arrested and had his passport taken away, but later convinced the South Korean consulate to issue a new document, claiming to have lost the original.

He left the country but was arrested and sentenced in South Africa for illegally growing plants native to that country for export to Asia.

Prosecutors, who extradited Kim in 2020, said his actions against California flora were not isolated incidents, and that he had traveled to the United States more than 50 times.

“Customs records show that he was traveling for the succulents and often with thousands of dollars in cash (sometimes declared, sometimes not) and bogus phytosanitary certificates,” they said.

Kim admitted to one count of attempting to export plants in violation of state law. He was jailed for two years.

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Deshawn