A WOMAN in her 20s was busted at Futian Checkpoint for attempting to smuggle 50 pieces of Lophophora williamsii, a kind of succulent plant, to Shenzhen on Saturday, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

It was the first of its kind that customs officers at Futian Checkpoint had ever intercepted, according to the report.

Customs officers said that the young woman who walked past them at a fast pace at around 6 p.m. that day caught their attention because she appeared nervous, not like a regular visitor, when crossing the border.

The woman was carrying a big locked suitcase and passed through the inspection area quickly. She lowered her head as if avoiding making eye contact with customs officers.

The officers stopped her and asked her to open her suitcase. However, the woman told the officers that she did not know the password to unlock the suitcase. She told the officers that she needed to make a phone call, after which she entered the password and opened the suitcase.

There were small packs of succulent plants inside the woman’s suitcase, according to the officers. The plants looked fresh as many still had mud on them. It was later confirmed that these plants were Lophophora williamsii.

It is against the law to bring foreign plants into the mainland. The woman said she did not know what was inside the suitcase and that she had been paid 150 yuan (US$22.93) to bring it to Shenzhen. The woman is under detention while police look into the case. (Zhang Qian)