A long wait at the post office led one woman to help crack a kidnapping ring — for plants

Authorities recently arrested two Korean nationals and one Chinese national suspected of poaching and smuggling in Northern California.

But it's not drugs, guns or animals they're accused of illegally taking — it's plants.

The three suspects are accused of poaching more than 2,300 Dudleya succulent plants in Humboldt County, according to a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"It took us a while to figure out what was going on, because this has never really happened before," Capt. Patrick Foy of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife told Capital Public Radio.

The Dudleya, which look similar to artichokes, grow on the edge of cliffs. According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the plants are prized in countries including Japan, China and Korea for decorative purposes. In those countries, they sell for about $50 a pop.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife said that removing the Dudleya from their cliffside habitats can result in destabilizing bluffs and cliffs on the coastline. Illegal harvesting also alarms authorities because some species of Dudleya in California are also rare or endangered, the state agency said.

"People call them 'charismatic,'" Stephen McCabe, a Dudleya expert and emeritus director of research at UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, told the Mercury-News. McCabe helped identify the stolen plants for state officials.

The first tip about the smuggling came back in December, when a caller, who was trying to mail a package at the small Mendocino post office, became suspicious of the man in front of her, according to the Mercury News.

That's because the man was shipping 60 packages to China. As the line grew out the door, she asked him what was in the packages. He put his finger to his lip and said "Shhhh, something very valuable," the Mercury News reported. When she asked where he got them, he pointed to the sea.

In January, authorities apprehended a man carrying 50 succulents in a backpack in Mendocino County, and on March 5, they cited two men who were found with 1,400 succulents in a minivan along the Mendocino coast, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Mercury News. The March suspects spoke no English and had Korean passports, according to the Mercury News.

Eagle-eyed U.S. Customs and Postal Service employees helped bust the most recent kidnapping suspects in Humboldt County, according to the Mercury News. Thanks to their work, authorities pulled over the suspects' van and seized 1,334 plants, which were all en route to being shipped overseas.

Authorities found another 1,000 Dudleya when, armed with a warrant, they raided the suspects' cabin in Humboldt County, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Altogether, authorities estimated the plants' market value at more than $90,000.

Taehun Kim, 52, and Taeyun Kim, 46, of Korea, along with Liu Fengxia, 37, of China, were arrested and taken to the Humboldt County Jail as a result of the bust.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials, with help from California Native Plant Society and U.C. Santa Cruz botany experts, have replanted the purloined plants in the areas they were taken from, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

"We have seen a remarkable amount of concern over this from botanists and the public alike," said David Bess, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Deputy Director and Chief of Law Enforcement, in a news release. "A public tip started this investigation and ultimately uncovered an international conspiracy to poach Dudleya succulents and ship them overseas for profit."

Officials ask anyone who believes they may have witnessed unlawful poaching to call CalTIP, the agency's confidential line, at 888-334-2258. Tips can also be sent to tip411.

This story was originally published April 23, 2018 at 11:46 AM with the headline "A long wait at the post office led one woman to help crack a kidnapping ring — for plants."