Officials in Preah Vihear seized more than a tonne of rosewood from two Lexuses yesterday, one of them with Royal Cambodian Armed Force licence plates.

The first car was stopped by Kulen district Forestry Administration (FA) officials and provincial economic crime police on National Road 62 between Preah Vihear town and Choam Ksan district, according to deputy provincial police chief Chhoiy Borin.

Borin said the driver managed to escape but left behind 129 logs of rosewood weighing a total of 458kg in the car, which bore RCAF plates.

The second Lexus, transporting 55 logs weighing 660kg, was seized at a pagoda in Chheb district after police trailed it at a distance of 300 metres, according to deputy provincial police chief for economic crime Meak Sam Oun. Both cars and rosewood were taken to the provincial FA station, he added.

“We received a tip-off about the Lexus transporting rosewood. We do not know the source of the wood as the drivers escaped,” Sam Oun said, adding that rosewood stocks have been depleted in Preah Vihear, making it likely the wood came from a neighbouring province.