Namibia is renowned for its rich diversity of endemic succulent plants, which unfortunately, makes it a target for plant poaching. While Namibia welcomes the interest of plant lovers to see our plants in their natural habitat, increasing attention from illegal plant poaching syndicates is a troubling development. Most of our unique succulents occur in the Kaokoveld Centre of Endemism in north-western Namibia, which continues into Angola, and the Gariep Centre of Endemism in south-western Namibia, which continues into South Africa. These remote areas are vulnerable to cross-border smuggling and difficult to patrol, while many of the plants growing here occur nowhere else (known as endemic species). Plant poaching in Namibia used to be restricted to occasional, isolated incidents. Since 2021, we have recorded a sharp increase in plant poaching activities due to the increased trading in rare plants ascribed to global trends in online trade of succulents for ornamental purposes. In the initial stages of this spike, most border officials had never encountered plant smuggling and therefore could not identify species of conservation concern.