With the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the controversy of how China was not forthcoming about the Wuhan outbreak in the first place, there are many suspicions about China’s controlling Communist Party. And with the revelations of reeducation concentration camps, crackdowns on Christians, as well as military threats – there is increased caution or even mistrust involving China.
Now, something very odd has been discovered. Apparently random people are receiving small packages from China that they did not order.
The News Tribune reports people in three states, Washington, Utah, and Virginia, have gotten these shipments and are baffled. The Washington State Department of Agriculture reports the packets state the contents are “jewelry,” but are in reality unknown seeds. There is concern the seeds could be an invasive plant species and might be harmful to livestock. Those receiving such a package are encouraged to not even open it.
Lori Culley, a resident of Tooele, Utah, found two small packets in her mailbox. The label was written with a lot of Chinese characters, but also said “earrings” were inside, according to Fox13. The seeds were quickly acquired by state agriculture inspectors.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is asking anyone who gets such an unexpected shipment of seeds to contact the agency, adding “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 bizarre shipments are also being received in the UK. The Daily Mail uses this headline: Hundreds of British gardeners 'receive unsolicited deliveries of garden seeds sent from China marked as ear studs': New pests and diseases could result from these unwanted seeds in the UK
Besides the concerns the seeds could be dangerous, there’s another theory. It’s a marketing technique that some Chinese businesses have used, called ‘brushing.’ That’s where large numbers of products are mailed to people in target nations to create faux positive product reviews by way of a fake profile of the actual recipient. The idea is to create crafted excitement about the product and make sales appear much larger than they actually are.
Aside from the unknown intent of the senders, there’s most likely a number of American laws being violated under what’s called “Agricultural Smuggling.”
