Five illegal loggers were released from a Thai prison over the weekend after being jailed for nearly a year for cutting down Siamese rosewood, a tropical hardwood whose trading and processing is banned in the Kingdom.

Oddar Meanchey’s Chaom-Sa Ngaom border checkpoint director Touch Ra said the five crossed into Thailand from Preah Vihear province and were caught by Thai authorities on July 15, 2014. They were released around 1pm on Saturday.

“They were from the provinces of Pursat and Preah Vihear,” he said yesterday. “After we took notes and educated them, we sent them back to their provinces. They have already heard about the dangers of illegal logging, but they did it to earn money.”

Ra added that from April 10 to May 10, the checkpoint has seen 70 Cambodians returned from Thailand for logging.

“Besides this checkpoint, a lot of Cambodians have been deported through others after being jailed in Thailand,” he said.