Sian Lim, a pharmaceutical researcher, was caught trafficking in some of the finest threatened species from his native Malaysia.

The trade, called orchidelirium, threatens to destroy some of the most beautiful species, which are exchanged for thousands of pounds.

Lim, 32, a renowned collector, has grown rare orchids in greenhouses in the garden of his home in Putney, southwest London, and exhibited at international shows.

He admitted 13 charges of smuggling rare orchids into Heathrow, but denied doing it for commercial gain despite the thriving black market.

He claimed that he had been offered the plants for sale in Malaysia and that he brought them back to Britain only at the last moment because the climate there was too hot.

But after a trial at Isleworth Crown Court, Lim’s claims were rejected by Judge Richard McGregor Johnson, who sent him to prison for four months. The judge accused Lim of having a “cavalier attitude” to regulations and said: “I am satisfied you did bring in these orchids with a view to commercial gain.

“It is essential that the courts make it plain that such behaviour for gain will not be tolerated in order to discourage others who might be tempted to follow in your footsteps.”

Some 126 specimens seized from Lim fall into the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) Category A, which means that they are banned from all trade. Among some of the flowers that were recovered was one species that grows only in small numbers in a remote area of a national park in Sarawak in Malaysia.

Six of the flowers — the most spectacular of the group — are so rare that they are on the brink of extinction and can be found only on the slopes of Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. Two of the flowers were discovered only in 1997 on the remote Indonesian island of Sulawesi and are now believed to be extinct because of illegal collection. Even the orchid expert at Kew said that he had never seen one.

David Roberts, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said after the case: “Illegal trade can push some rare orchids towards extinction. Many orchids are threatened through habitat destruction, but some, often the rarest, are also at risk from over-collecting for international trade. Illegal trade is rapidly pushing those species towards extinction.”

Dr Roberts added: “The plants now belong to Customs. If and when they are handed over to Kew we will be in touch with the likely countries of origin to determine the future of the plants.”

The court was told that the orchids had been seized by customs officers from Lim’s luggage at Heathrow when he flew in from Malaysia on June 2, 2004.

They included “some of the most sought-after orchids in the history of orchid collection”.

Lim, who is head of research and development at Medpharm Ltd — described as a “spin-off” company from King’s College London — claimed that when he completed the CITES permit applications, he simply used the Malaysian export permits as a template and was unaware that the “T” in the purpose box stood for “trade”.

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