Nearly five cubic feet of highly priced wood was confiscated in Battambang province’s Samlot district after Military Police in Kampong Lapov commune stopped a truck on Wednesday, said Meas Sovan, the provincial Military Police commander.
“Police are on the lookout for the driver who fled the scene after transporting the wood without a permit,” he said.
When Military Police inspected the truck, they found 200 pieces of wood. The haul included luxury-grade beng and thnong wood.
The truck and timber were taken to the provincial Military Police station before police handed it over to the provincial Department of Environment, Sovan said.
Kort Boran, head of the provincial Department of Environment, said he received the evidence and a report.
“We will continue to work on the case and are trying to identify the driver,” he said.
Despite Prime Minister Hun Sen’s promise to give his life to stop illegal logging, a government ban on timber exports to Vietnam in January and the creation of a high-level task force headed by National Military Police Commander Sao Sokha in early 2017, illegal logging allegedly continues in Cambodia’s national parks, in community protected areas, in areas designated as land concessions and in wildlife sanctuaries.
