A truck hauling 37 cubic metres of illegal timber was stopped and handed to environmental officials in Pursat province’s Phnom Somkos Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday, however no perpetrators were apprehended, according to a Military Police official.

Noting that the drivers may have been alerted to the crackdown, Doch Samphos, the provincial deputy chief of staff, said authorities surrounded the parked rig on Saturday night near the nature reserve in Veal Veng district’s Bpramouy commune.

“The timber [found in the truck] is korki and chhuetal and worth about $200,000,” he said. He added that after the bust the evidence, including the truck and timber, were handed to environmental officials to impound and take further action.