Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, soldiers and police have arrested three suspected loggers and seized four vehicles and chain saws allegedly used to illegally cut rosewood trees in forest reserves in Uttaradit province.
Speaking at a press conference at the department today, its director-general Atthaphon Charoenchansa said the three suspects in custody were allegedly hired by a group of Chinese businessmen to cut rosewood trees in forest reserves in Ban Khok district of Uttaradit yesterday.
Rosewood is a highly prized timber used to make expensive furniture in China. It is a protected species, and cutting the trees is prohibited on state land in Thailand. Only rosewood grown on privately owned land can be legally harvested. Loggers often claim that their rosewood timber was legally harvested from private land.
Atthaphon said the illegal logging operation was closely supervised by the Chinese employers, who managed to escape under the cover of darkness. Only three Thai suspects, identified as “Chaiwat”, “Suphachai” and “Phanom”, were arrested.
A tractor, a pickup truck, a truck equipped with a crane, a multi-purpose truck and two chain saws were confiscated. Eight rosewood logs, with a combined volume of 13.39 cubic metres and an estimated value of about 500,000 baht, were also seized.
Atthaphon said the department had sought cooperation from the Customs Department to tighten checks on goods being exported from tax-free zones in order to prevent illegally harvested timber from being shipped abroad.
