An attempt to sneak high risk seeds into Australia via a parcel containing a pair of running shoes has been foiled by biosecurity officers conducting routine parcel checks in Brisbane.
Bags of pumpkin (cucurbita sp.) and nightshade seeds (solanaceae) were concealed in a pair of sneakers mailed from Burundi in east-central Africa detected at a facility handling international mail and imported air cargo.
The parcel had been mislabelled as containing new shoes, a leather jacket and a denim outfit for a child.
"Both seed types did not meet import conditions," said Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry deputy secretary of biosecurity and compliance, Dr Chris Locke.
"They are known to harbour diseases including melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV) and tobamoviruses, which if spread into the community could cause widespread devastation to many of Australia's vegetable crops."
Surprise outbreaks of the MNSV disease have occurred and been eliminated in Australian horticultural crops during the past decade.
RELATED READING
"Some people don't seem to understand the consequences of infected plants and plant material, including seeds, being illegally sent through the mail," Dr Locke said.
Among the valuable horticultural crops at risk from MNSV and tobamoviruses are melons, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and capsicum.
MNSV was detected in watermelons and rockmelons in isolated outbreaks in NSW in 2012, Victoria in 2016 and Queensland in 2018, causing whole crops to be destroyed.
Tobamovirus can infect some weed species including prostrate pigweed and creeping cucumber and is detrimental to the farming sector.
An Australian Quarantine Inspection Service biosecurity officer checking for quarantine breaches at the DHL Express centre in Brisbane discovered the imports after having initial suspicions about the shoes because they were dirty, not new as declared on the parcel's mailing details.
The officer subsequently found a hole in the heels of both shoes, and carefully inspected the cavities to discover the poorly wrapped seeds.
The imports were identified by a DAFF botanist and the concealment confirmed with a new, oversized X-ray, supplied to DAFF by the Australian Border Force.
Oversized X-rays are used to screen larger packages, ensuring all sizes of deliveries can be inspected on arrival into the country.
Any mail containing imported goods worth less than $1000 in value can be inspected under Self-Assess-Consignment processes, making it subject to DAFF and border force scrutiny.
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture! Sign up below to receive our daily Farmonline newsletter.
Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
