Rosewood haul confiscated in Pursat
A HAUL of rosewood timber was confiscated in Pursat province’s Krakor district yesterday, said a military police officer involved in the crackdown.
The bust, resulting in the seizure of hundreds of timber pieces and a car that transported them, was carried out by the Pursat provincial military police force.
The force’s chief Duch Sampors told The Post his team was on the lookout for crimes in the district since 11pm on Tuesday. Fifteen minutes past midnight, they spotted a fast-moving car on a small road near Tram Village heading towards National Road 5.
Suspicious, one of his team members informed other officers standing by at a checkpoint along the national road, between Km170-171, in Thout Chum commune.
Upon being pulled over by police, about 50m beyond the checkpoint, the driver abandoned the car and walked to the nearby village, he said.
Thirty minutes later, the authorities inspected the vehicle in which they found piles of rosewood timber, leading to a request to the Pursat provincial court for authorisation to impound the evidence.
“According to measurement conducted by the experts from the forestry administration, the timber weights about 1,400kg. All of it was rosewood, which is banned by law to be logged.
“At the moment, the evidence – a car and hundreds of timber – were handed to the Prey Meas forestry administration in Pursat town for further investigation,” Duch said.
Chea Bundy, a forestry administration official, said the authorities are in the process of locating the car owner for interrogation.
“At the moment, we are seeking intervention from some [parties] to find the car owner’s identity and to work on the case procedurally,” he said.