A total of 30 logs harvested from high-quality wood were seized by Mondulkiri provincial Military Police and National Military Police on Saturday and Sunday.
Provincial Military Police investigation department head Phok Chanthy told The Post on Monday that the logs were found in Pech Chreada district’s Bou Sra commune, 10km from the Vietnamese border, during a two-day forestry crime raid in the area.
“Our Military Police found 30 logs in the two-day crackdown. Each log has a diameter of between 20cm and 30cm, and they are 2.8m to 3m in length. The logs were classified as sokram, lambor, and sralao wood,” Chanthy said, adding that they were hidden in the forest near a stream.
“The authorities have tried to ascertain the owner’s identity, but no one has come forward. The logs are now being kept at the Sen Monorom Forestry Administration office where they will be processed,” Chanthy said.
Sok Saruon, head of the Sen Monorom Forestry Administration, confirmed to The Post that it had received the 30 luxury logs of wood from military police and were currently searching for their owner.
Nheunh Thanh, a villager from Bou Sra commune’s Pu Til village, said local villagers had collaborated with those from elsewhere to illegally cut down the forest and sell the logs in Vietnam.
“I and other elders in Pu Til village tried to protect the forest by prohibiting others from felling it, but they did not listen to us and illegally cut down the trees to sell in Vietnam."
“We reported this to police and asked the police to investigate,” he said.
