Working in concert with the NGO Wildlife Alliance, Forestry Administration officials in Stung Treng province seized over 100 kilograms of illegal meat on Tuesday morning.

Provincial agriculture department director Lieng Seng, who led the raid in Stung Treng town, said his five-person team confiscated “45 kilograms of sambar deer meat, 57 kilograms of red muntjac deer meat, 15 kilograms of boar meat, and five hedgehog stomachs”.

“The wild animal meat was burned and buried at the Ou’pong Moan tree plantation,” Seng said.

Ou’Pong Moan Forestry Administration office deputy Hun Bun said that the raid was launched without the knowledge of local law enforcement authorities. He and his team prepared the raid in secret with Wildlife Alliance to ensure the operation would catch the illegal meat traders by surprise.

Despite these precautions, said Bun, his team failed to apprehend the meat traders. “Such a crackdown aims to arrest the suspects and seize the evidence, but [the suspects] seemed to have known beforehand and escaped; only the meat was left,” he said.