Viateur who asked:
>I have heard, a couple of times at my orchid society, comments that Manuel
>Arias Silva was sentenced for exporting Phragmipedium kovachii.
>Did I miss something at some point or the species was never actually
>mentioned in the prosecution against Manuel Arias Silva nor George Norris ?
IMHO, those comments are false and not based on USDOJ news releases.
The USDOJ news release does not mention what species. It mentions shipments
between Jan 1999
and Oct 2003, thus species other than Phragmipedium kovachii had to be
involved, whether Pk
was, or not, can not be gained from the document.
note:
{Certainly, George DID NOT OFFER Phrag. kovachii for sale in his now
(in)famous flyer, he simply
mentioned that he might have some in the near future. I read that flyer and
concluded that
George was talking about legal Phrag. kovachii plants, artificially propagated
by one of the
two designated and licensed nurseries in Peru.}
Here is the news release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENRD
THURSDAY MARCH 11, 2004 t (202) 514-2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888
TWO INDIVIDUALS INDICTED IN MIAMI FOR SMUGGLING
PROTECTED PERUVIAN ORCHIDS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, has
returned an indictment charging Manuel G. Arias Silva, a Peruvian national,
and George W. Norris, a resident of Spring, Texas, with conspiring to smuggle
into the United States protected orchid specimens, including specimens of the
genus Phragmipedium, commonly known as Tropical lady's slipper orchids. All
species of orchid are protected under the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
According to the indictment, Arias sold several shipments of
orchids to Norris between January of 1999 and October of 2003. Arias would
allegedly obtain a CITES permit for the shipment from Peruvian authorities
that authorized the export of certain numbers of artificially-propagated
specimens of particular species of orchids. Arias, at the instruction of
Norris, would then allegedly include in the shipment specimens of species not
included on the CITES permit. To conceal the allegedly illegal activity, he
would falsely label the protected species as a species listed on the permit.
Arias would allegedly provide to Norris a code or "key" that would provide
Norris a means for deciphering the false labels and identifying the true
species of the orchids. In some instances Arias allegedly shipped orchids
that were wild collected rather than artificially propagated. One shipment in
February of 2003 allegedly included some 1,145 specimens, of which
approximately 490 were of species not authorized for export by the
accompanying CITES permit.
In addition, Arias is charged with two counts and Norris with
one count of making a false statement to federal authorities in violation of
18 U.S.C. ' 1001(a). Norris faces an additional two counts of smuggling
related to alleged sales and domestic shipments of orchids that he knew had
been imported contrary to law. If convicted, the maximum penalty for each of
the counts of the indictment is up to five years in prison and a $250,000
fine.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora is a treaty to which the United States and Peru, along
with over 160 other nations, are parties. The United States implements CITES
through the Endangered Species Act. Certain species of orchids are listed on
Appendix I of CITES, including all species of the genus Phragmipedium.
_______________________________________________
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