Mondulkiri provincial police charged four men with illegal logging and immigration crimes after they allegedly caught the suspects collecting wood in O’Raing district.

Vietnamese nationals Orng Minh Chhung, 30; Le Vantieng, 38; Tvan Taktech, 33; and Thvang Vanthai, 36, were arrested while gathering freshly cut pieces of luxury-grade wood, O’Raing district police chief Bou Bunchheat said.

“They were arrested while committing a forest crime in our Cambodian territory,” Bunchheat said.

The four were sent to the Mondulkiri district police station’s immigration office for questioning, Bunchheat added.

But Sok Ratha, a coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said that because they are accused of illegal logging, not just illegal border crossing, they should have been sent to the prosecutor’s office for questioning.

The suspects will appear in Mondulkiri Provincial Court today on charges of illegal border crossing to log Cambodian forest, provincial police chief Nherm Vanny said.