About a year ago, I found a link to a SuperWeed 1.0. I contacted them once to see what they’d reply with and I never heard anything back. I soon forgot about it.
On November 27, 2006, an envelope from the UK showed up. There was no return address. All it contained was a package containing some seeds and a piece of paper indicating that it was “SuperWeed 1.0″ and a blurb about it. It took me awhile to remember what this was about. I figured it was a joke and that I wasn’t actually possessing a “genetic weapon” and posted it on my website. I never did anything with the seeds.
On December 22, 2006, I got a call from a special agent with the USDA after he showed up at my house and talked with roommate Allen. I agreed to meet with him in my front porch. He arrived with an FBI agent specializing in bioterrorism and another guy from the USDA. I didn’t know what it was about until they showed me a printout of the SuperWeed 1.0 post from my site. I guess it wasn’t a joke. I fully complied with them, answered a ton of questions and volunteered the SuperWeed 1.0 package which they took and photographed.
On February 28, 2007, a new investigator with the USDA called me at work and asked to meet with me. In a half hour, her and that other guy from the USDA I met previously showed up at my office. I was told that the FBI investigation was over and at this point the USDA was investigating my situation.
Today I picked up a letter sent certified mail stating that I am asked to pay a civil penalty of $250 to settle the matter. The settlement agreement points to 7 CFR §319.37(a) and 7 CFR §351.3.
If I pay the penalty I neither admit nor deny the violations and I waive my right to a hearing. If I do not pay the penalty, a complaint will be issued charging me with the violations and seeking higher penalties.
It’s like, “we could to try to screw you over for this, but if you pay 250 bucks we’ll call it a deal.”
Moral of the story: It’s not always smart to contact people on the internet that are suspicious and if you get a strange package in the mail, report it. (Especially if you blog about it!)
If you’re curious, they tested the seeds and they were identified as: Brassica napus, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Raphanus rahanistrum, Galium sp., and Chenopodium sp.
