Stay updated with breaking news from Bong Jun Kim. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
It has taken suspected succulent smugglers just a few years to yank out out of the ground more than 1.5 million rare plants with a cumulative age of more than 44,000 years. And illegal trade in wild flora and fauna continues to rocket, authorities say.
Byungsu Kim pleaded guilty to attempting to ferry more than 3,700 wild dudleya plants from California parks to South Korea
Smugglers are known to harvest wild, living plants from the ground in Northern California and export them overseas where they are sold on the black market.
Federal authorities say the man had recently searched "poaching succulents" on his smartphone.
Federal authorities say the man had recently searched "poaching succulents" on his smartphone.