‘Mysterious packages of seeds’ sent to Coast and Mississippi homes. Don’t plant them.
“Mysterious packages of seeds” that appear to be sent from China are landing on doorsteps across the Coast, the state and the country, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said Tuesday.
Do not plant them or throw them away. They could be invasive plant species, Gipson said.
Anyone who receives unsolicited seeds from any foreign country should report it by calling the state’s Bureau of Plant Industry at 662-325-3390. Keep the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, and an inspector will come pick it up.
“I started getting some calls about them over the weekend,” Gipson said Tuesday on Facebook Live. “... And in almost every instance the person receiving these packages, they did not order anything. But the package will be marked like ‘jewelry’ or a ‘ring’ or something to get the curiosity of the person up and when they open it what they find, to their surprise, is seeds.
Packages have been reported in 15 counties, including Hancock, Harrison and Jackson. The others are Simpson, Adams, Madison, Hinds, Jeff Davis, Tippah, Oktibbeha, Greene, Montgomery, Holmes, Pike and Lafayette counties.
“So really, people in every region of the state who did not order seeds from China are getting seeds from China,” Gipson said.
Packages also have been reported in 28 states, NBC News reported. Louisiana’s agricultural commissioner told The Wall Street Journal some packages appear to be from Uzbekistan.
China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters at a press conference that the package labels are fake.
“After verification with China Post, those address labels turned out to be fake ones with erroneous layouts and entries,” he said. “China Post has contacted USPS, asking it to send those fake packages to China for investigation.”
The USDA said evidence gathered so far points to a “brushing scam, where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales.” The agency also is collecting the seed packages and testing them and determine if they contain anything of concern to U.S. agriculture or the environment.
Gipson said his agency is working closely with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and it’s important for Mississippians to report the packages to protect the state’s agriculture.
“Any one of the seeds could be an invasive plant. You all know about kudzu, you know about tallow trees, you know about the cogon grass.”
The seeds could have a fungus, pesticide or insect that “could result in catastrophe for Mississippi agriculture.”
“I’m calling it the great Mississippi seed round up,” Gipson said. “Let’s keep them from getting in Mississippi soil, protect Mississippi farmers and agriculture, and we’re gonna get to the bottom of this scheme.”
