A nursery owner been fined more than 40-thousand dollars for breaching biosecurity regulations, using a swap subterfuge

Elliot Wholesale Nursery owner, Jeff Elliot, removed 220 nandina plants from a quarantine facility - one day after they arrived.

The flowering plant, also known as sacred bamboo, must be kept in quarantine for three months.

Elliot replaced them with a similar plant from his Canterbury nursery to avoid the wait.

New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated says no pests or diseases were found on the plants - but it's still a serious breach of the law.