Seeds mailed to Virginia residents are believed to possibly be seeds of an invasive species possibly from China. The unsolicited packages of seeds that came in packets with Chinese writing. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is investigating who may have sent the seeds. For now, they are asking the public to not plant the seeds
"Invasive species wreak havoc on the environment, displace or destroy native plants and insects and severely damage crops. Taking steps to prevent their introduction is the most effective method of reducing both the risk of invasive species infestations and the cost to control and mitigate those infestations," the department said in a statement.
If you receive a package with the seed, the Department of Agriculture is asking that people contact them at ReportAPest@vdacs.virginia.gov.
Upon reading this local story, to see if anything similar has been reported elsewhere, I did a Google search and I found a whole slew of similar stories across the country. A report yesterday in Kansas gives an eerily similar story.
The department said people in Kansas have been getting the packages by mail. Some are labeled as jewelry and have Chinese writing on them.
They aren’t sure what type of seeds these are, but they’re asking people not to plant them.
Agriculture officials believe these seeds might be dangerous. They said they could be invasive species, could introduce diseases to local plants, or could be harmful to livestock.
People in other states across the country have also received similar packages, according to the department.
A story out of Washington State reports the seeds have been received in Washington, Utah, as well as Virginia.
Lori Culley, who lives in Tooele, Utah, told Fox 13 that she found two small packages in her mailbox Tuesday that had Chinese writing on them.
“I opened them up and they were seeds,” Culley told the news station. “Obviously they’re not jewelry!”
In Utah, at least 40 people had received mysterious seeds, Fox 13 reported. It is unclear how many people in Virginia and Washington were mailed a package of seeds, but officials said “several.”
As I did more digging on this story, I found a Daily Mail story that adds two more states — Arizona and Louisiana to the list of states where seeds have been received. And the UK.
Photos shared to Facebook showed that one resident received two packages of seeds that were labeled as a 'bracelet' and a 'ring.'
The address showed the packages were sent from the city of Suzhou in the Jiangsu providence of East China.
Washington officials added that this act is known as agricultural smuggling and people should notify the U.S. Department of Agriculture for further instructions.
As you can see from the photos, the seeds are not just one variety.
Another possible motive is this can be an e-commerce scam known as ‘brushing’, where companies will create fake orders to boost their ratings.
Horticulturalists have issued a warning after 'hundreds' of British gardeners received unsolicited deliveries of seeds thought to have been sent from China.
The mysterious packages have been posted to customers who previously made legitimate seed purchases through sites such as Amazon marketplace and eBay.
If you receive any unsolicited seeds — do not open the package and contact your local Department of Agriculture.
Prof Ian Rotherham, an expert in environmental geography at Sheffield Hallam University, said: 'Presumably the labelling is so the seeds get through customs unchecked - although it is difficult to understand why they are being sent if they are not being paid for.
'It may be that the seeds are of species we don't want here. You don't know what is going to come up - it could be potentially invasive.