POLICE SEIZE MUKULA LOGS

POLICEin Nakonde have discovered illegally harvested Mukula logs suspected to have been loaded from Chinsali.

Muchinga Province Commissioner of Police, Joel Njase, said police came across logs of Mukula which were offloaded on Thursday night by unidentified people, who intended to smuggle them out of the country.

In 2017, Government banned the harvesting, storage, transportation and trading in the Mukula tree after illegal traders invaded forests and started to cut down the natural resource indiscriminately.

Mr Njase said information gathered so far indicated that the logs were loaded from Musanya area on the Isoka-Chinsali road and offloaded in Nakonde.

Police were investigating to try and trace the perpetrators of the crime, who could have offloaded the contraband with intention to smuggle it out of the country.

Mr Njase warned police officers against compromising in implementing the ban on trade of endangered Mukula as the contraband had passed through a check-point before it was offloaded in Nakonde.

"We wish to remind our officers to be alert and ensure that there is no compromise when it comes to enforcement of the law," Mr Njase said.

Meanwhile, Government has warned against illegal harvesting and trading of the endangered Mukula timber.

Lands Minister, Jean Kapata, warned any found involved in harvesting, storage, transportation and trading of Mukula tree would be dealt with under the law.

“Trading in Mukula was banned in 2017, therefore those involved in the harvesting, storage, transportation and trading in the Mukula tree shall be prosecuted in accordance with the law," Ms Kapata said.

She said the Zambia Forests and Forestry Industries Corporation was the only Institution that has been mandated to buy and sell Mukula logs.