Scientist Caged For Smuggling Rare Plants

Monday, 16th January 2006, 10:00
Category: Crime and Punishment
LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - A top scientist has been jailed for smuggling more
than 100 "priceless" orchids -the world's most desired flower -into
Britain.

Pharmaceutical researcher Dr Sian Lim, 32, was caught smuggling some of
the rarest species of the beautiful, fragrant and delicate plant into
Britain from his native Malaysia.

The illegal trade, dubbed 'orchidelirium', threatens to destroy some
species entirely. Thousands of pounds can be exchanged for each of the
flowers admired for their sensuous shape and heady scent.

Amongst the flowers recovered was one species that only grows in small
numbers in a remote area of a national park in Sarawak in Malaysia.

Six of the flowers - the most spectacular of the group - are so rare they
are on the brink of extinction and can only be found on the slopes of
Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo.

Two of the flowers were only discovered in 1997 in the remote Indonesian
island of Sulawesi and are believed to be extinct because of illegal
collection. They are so rare that the orchid expert at Kew admitted he had
never even seen one.

In all 126 specimens seized from Dr Lim fall into the CITES' "Category A"
which means they are banned from all trade.

A renowned collector, Dr Lim grows rare orchids in two greenhouses in the
garden of his home in Putney, south west London, and exhibits at
international shows.

He admitted 13 charges of smuggling rare orchids into Heathrow Airport,
but denied doing it for commercial gain despite the thriving black market.

He claimed he had been offered the plants for sale in Malaysia and that he
only brought them back to Britain with him at the last moment because the
climate there was too hot.

But after a trial at Isleworth Crown Court, Dr Lim's claims were rejected
by Judge Richard McGregor Johnson who jailed him for four months.

The Judge told Lim: "I am satisfied you did bring in these orchids with a
view to commercial gain. It is essential that the courts make it plain
that such behaviour for gain will not be tolerated in order to discourage
other who might be tempted to follow in your footsteps."

He accused the doctor of having a "cavalier attitude" to the regulations
and added: "I do not accept your evidence in its entirety."

Orchid biologist Dr David Roberts, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said
after the case: "Illegal trade can push some rare orchids towards
extinction.

"Many orchids are threatened through habitat destruction, but some, often
the rarest, are also at risk from over collecting for international trade.
Illegal trade is rapidly pushing those species towards extinction."

Dominic Connolly, prosecuting, explained that because wild orchids are now
an endangered species they are covered by the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) under which most trade is banned or
regulated with special permits.

Mr Connolly told the court: "The international trade in orchids is a
multi-million dollar industry, but the majority of this trade is in
cultivated hybrid plants.

"Legal trade in orchids taken directly from the wild is very limited with
many countries banning their export. As a result there is an illegal trade
and they are often offered for trade under the counter at orchid shows."

The orchids found by customs officers in Lim's luggage at Heathrow when he
flew in from Malaysia on June 2, 2004, included "some of the most sought-
after orchids in the history of orchid collection - some of the most rare
in the world."

Rejecting Dr Lim's claims, Mr Connolly said that since June 2003 he had
been issued with 399 CITES permits to import 8,980 plants - 7,932 of which
were actually imported and that the purpose given on each application form
was "trade."

Lim had sold plants at various international orchid shows, including those
in London and Newbury, acting for Creative Orchids or Orchid Inn.

Mr Connolly said the number of plants imported was consistent with
commercial use and not personal collection.

After the plants were seized at Heathrow they were taken to Kew Gardens
for inspection.

Mr Connolly said: "It was immediately obvious that a significant
proportion of the consignment was of wild origin for which no permits had
been obtained."

He said it was impossible to put a value on the illegal plants as
"relevant experts have never heard of or seen this species offered for
sale as mature plants."

He added: "Many of these plants are essentially priceless as they are
rarely offered for sale and are worth as much as someone is prepared to
pay for them."

Lim, who is head of research and development at Medpharm Ltd - described
as a "spin-off" company from Kings College, London University - claimed
that when he completed the CITES permit applications, he simply used the
Malaysian export permits as a template and was unaware the "T" in the
purpose box stood for "Trade."

He claimed he did not trade in orchids and the fact that his name appeared
on some of the show literature was because he acted for friends living in
other countries. He said he was not employed by either Creative Orchids,
Far East Agriculture or Orchid Inn. Lim, of Oakhill Road, Putney, said
that his hobby helped to relieve stress.

The international trade in orchids has grown rapidly in the past 20 years,
and now involves up to a billion of the plants a year. The vast majority
of that is legal and has made orchids the UK's most popular house plant.
But the illegal trade continues and although small by comparison, does
enormous environmental damage.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) is also known as the 'Washington Convention' after the
place where it was negotiated in 1973.

The Convention is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and came into force in 1975; since then 169 countries have signed
up to the Convention.

Orchids are found all over the world but about 7O% are found in the
tropics. There are some 25,000 species of orchids.

One of the plants confiscated by Customs included P. (Paphiopedilum)
rothschildianum, named after the eminent Victorian orchid grower Baron
Ferdinand de Rothschild. Of all the species in the genus Paphiopedilum
this is one of the rarest in nature.

Despite extensive searching for over 100 years it has been located only in
a small number of sites on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, Malaysia.

Another was P. sanderianum, one of the most striking of all orchids and
easily recognisable by its long drooping petals which can grow to a length
of more than a metre. It was first discovered in Borneo in 1885 but did
not survive long in cultivation, probably due to its very specific habitat
requirements.

In the wild it grows on steep limestone cliffs in areas that are shaded
for most of the day. It was rediscovered in 1978. It is only known from a
national park in Borneo.

A third was P. gigantifolium, readily identified by broad glossy green
leaves which can grow up to 60cm long and 12cm wide. It grows just in
river gorges in the Sulawesi, Indonesia. Only discovered in 1997, it is
now thought to be extinct in its original locality due to over collecting
and may be extinct in the wild.

Dr Roberts added: "I was particularly concerned to see Paphiopedilum
gigantifolium, an orchid I had never seen before, as this species was only
described new to science in 1997."

"The plants now belong to Customs. If and when they are handed over to Kew
we will be in touch with the likely countries of origin to determine the
future of the plants."