Rare petals Obsession with orchids fuels illegal global trade

ohn Deer runs a peculiar operation. As security manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, it is his job to protect the 1.8 million people who visit every year. It is also his job to make sure plants and cuttings do not vanish from the collection while the public are on the royal estate. To do so, members of one of the UK’s oldest constabularies patrol the grounds and officers watch from a state-of-the-art control room.