Kolkata: Customs sleuths at Kolkata airport have seized 220 plants, weighing around 17kg from a passenger arriving from Bangkok at Kolkata airport on Saturday.The plants were seized as the passenger didn’t have mandatory import documents, including phytosanitary certificate and a valid permit, for bringing those to India. Besides, the import duty for the plants was allegedly not paid. “The plants were examined by the competent Plant Quarantine Authority, which found that they had been imported without a valid import permit or phytosanitary certificate, as required under applicable plant quarantine regulations,” a customs official said.Officials said the ornamental-plant trade has a specialist segment in which collectors pay a premium for unusual foliage, rare cultivars and imported varieties, which has led to a spike in smuggling of such plants. “Plant material can’t be treated as ordinary baggage, as its import is governed by quarantine regulations and may need authorisation documents,” the advisory reads.
