CBP gets first conviction after intercepting illegal citrus cuttings
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the first felony conviction and imprisonment under the federal Plant Protection Act of 2000.
Nagatoshi Morimoto pleaded guilty to one felony count of smuggling citrus cuttings from Japan to the United States, the result of a year-long investigation by CBP and the California Department of Food and Agriculture into Morimoto, who was convicted of smuggling 450 citrus cuttings into the U.S.
Morimoto was caught in April 2004 when CBP Officers intercepted three express mail shipments from Japan that were labeled as “candy and chocolates,” but which contained the citrus cuttings. One of the shipments tested positive for citrus canker.
Citrus cuttings are grafted onto rootstock to grow a particular species of citrus. Citrus canker is a plant disease caused by a bacterial pathogen that affects a variety of citrus species and citrus relatives. Lesions caused by the disease render fruit unmarketable and can cause infected fruit to drop from trees before reaching maturity.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that citrus canker may be one of the most devastating agriculture pests and diseases that threaten citrus crops. Previous outbreaks of the disease in Florida and other Gulf Coast states were resolved by eradication programs that required the removal of infected trees. To date, Florida has spent $20 million on eradication and compensation for lost trees. According to the University of California Davis Agricultural Issues Center, the potential economic impact from a citrus canker outbreak in California has been estimated to be between $173 to $890 million.
Morimoto was sentenced to one month in prison, a $5,000 fine, and community service that requires him to distribute brochures both in Japan and the United States that warn farmers about the virus and the consequences of illegally shipping citrus cuttings to the United States.