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 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers’ Interception of Illegal Citrus Cuttings Becomes First Conviction in Violation of the Plant Protection Act of 2000
(09/09/2005)Washington, D.C. – The first felony conviction and imprisonment under the Plant Protection Act of 2000 occurred on August 30, 2005 in San Francisco, CA. The conviction was a result of a year-long investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the California Department of Food and Agriculture into a man accused of smuggling 450 citrus cuttings into the U.S. Nagatoshi Morimoto pleaded guilty to one felony count of smuggling citrus cuttings from Japan to the United States. Morimoto was caught in April of 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. “We are committed to protecting America, and that includes protecting our agricultural community from this kind of serious threat. The citrus canker can have disastrous consequences for our nation’s citrus growers – ecologically and economically – and we will continue to enforce the laws to prevent importation of these types of illegal and potentially harmful agricultural products,” said Commissioner Bonner.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. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. |
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