A Richmond business has been fined $50,000 for illegally importing a herbal oil into Canada.
Topwin Trading has been ordered to pay $45,000 to the federal government’s Environmental Damages Fund, and another $5,000 as a general fine.
The company pleaded guilty to violating a trade act by illegally importing 51 boxes of herbal oil containing extract of hyacinth orchid, a protected species that requires a permit to import it.
The company has also been ordered to forfeit the boxes, which contained more than 10,000 vials of the oil.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says this isn’t the first conviction for Topwin Trading.
It says in 2010, the company pleaded guilty under the same trade act for illegally importing a carton of Spikenard, a plant commonly used as a medicinal herb.