Illegal commerce in plants and their derivatives threatens and destroys numerous species and important natural resources, and may cause phytosanitary and health problems. This illegal trade, which has been boosted by the commercialisation of the Internet, has been relatively overlooked in criminological research. Furthermore, the policing of illegal plant markets remains limited and poorly resourced, with law enforcement agencies lacking awareness and technical capacity in investigation and prosecution services. Based on semi-structured interviews with law enforcement officers and other relevant experts, this study, developed in the context of the ESRC-funded project “FloraGuard: Tackling the illegal trade in endangered plants” offers an analysis of the characteristics of illegal online trading in plants and of the actors operating therein, of current policing practices, and identification of the main challenges to be addressed to better assist law enforcement. It concludes by offering practical recommendations to curb this illegal market.

植物及其衍生物的非法贸易威胁和破坏了许多物种和重要的自然资源，并可能导致植物检疫和健康问题。这种因互联网商业化而助长的非法交易，在犯罪学研究中相对被忽视。此外，对非法植物市场的监管仍然有限且资源匮乏，执法机构缺乏调查和起诉服务的意识和技术能力。本研究基于对执法人员和其他相关专家的半结构化访谈，在 ESRC 资助的项目“FloraGuard：解决濒危植物非法贸易”的背景下进行，分析了非法在线贸易的特征。工厂和在其中运营的参与者，当前的警务实践，并确定为更好地协助执法而需要解决的主要挑战。最后，它提供了切实可行的建议，以遏制这个非法市场。