THE threat high-risk seeds pose to Australia’s vegetable crops means biosecurity officers need to be at the top of their game when it comes to intercepting illegal imports.
A recent attempt to smuggle seeds into Australia through the mail was foiled following a routine parcel check at a facility that handles international mail and imported air cargo in Brisbane.
The seeds were concealed within the heels of a pair of running shoes mailed from Burundi in east central Africa.
Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary of Biosecurity and Compliance Dr Chris Locke said bags of pumpkin and nightshade seeds were found in the sneakers.
“Both seed types did not meet import conditions and 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,” he said.
“Some people don’t seem to understand the consequences of infected plants and plant material, including seeds, being illegally sent through the mail.
“MNSV and tobamoviruses put at risk many valuable vegetable crops including melons, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and capsicum.”
He said tobamovirus could infect some weed species including prostrate pigweed and creeping cucumber and was detrimental to the farming sector.
The shoes initially drew the attention of biosecurity officers because they were dirty when the parcel was labelled as containing new shoes, a leather jacket and a denim outfit.
On inspection an officer found a hole in both heels of the shoes where poorly wrapped seeds had been inserted