> I have been involved with the Cites authorities quite a bit (I was the
> expert for the defence in two major Orchid cases). Both were,
>at the end, de facto won by the defence. It is unbelievable what the =
> 'authorities' will do to obtain a conviction.In the first case, the =
> experts for the prosecution [two very well known botanists] =
> actually made false satements and ended up to be 'trown out of
> court'. In the other case, the fellow = was arrested on DRUG CHARGES
> because the Customs and Cites = authorities clamed that the 12
> Phragmipediums he had with him 'looked = like bull rushes'. (I kid
> you not!) HE (not I) was convicted to a severe =
> punishment first. That conviction was widely published. This =
> conviction was overruled 2 weeks later, and the punishment reduced to
> = 'peanuts'. But NO-ONE ever published the second verdict!
However, the Freudian slip had its reasons. After I had become the
expert of the defence, the German Cites 'Autorities' did seek a
search warrant for my home and my offices (that became clear when I
saw the legal documents). In both cases the search warrant was
denied.
Regards
Guido