Who is supporting illegal timber trade in Dien My - Dien Chau?!

(Baonghean) -In Hamlet 8, Dien My Commune, Dien Chau, for many years, it has always been a gathering point for illegal timber and has been openly operating. The provincial economic police, in coordination with the PCCR Mobile Forest Ranger Team No. 1, have caught many cases of illegal timber storage here. On December 18, 2012, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch 9042/UBND-VX "requesting direction to inspect and handle organizations and individuals with violations according to regulations". Specifically, the responsibility belongs to the Dien Chau Forest Ranger Department (managing the area), in which the main responsibility belongs to the Department Head. But up to now, the direction of the Provincial People's Committee has not been implemented. The transportation and consumption of illegal timber here is increasingly "hot", causing public outrage.

In Dien My - Dien Chau, everyone knows the "illegal timber boss" named Q, the largest illegal timber trader in the province. Q built a warehouse that could store hundreds of cubic meters of illegal timber. On November 27, 2012, the provincial Economic Police coordinated with the PCCR Mobile Forest Ranger Team No. 1 to seize 32 cubic meters of illegal timber from Q in Dien My, Dien Chau. This is the largest illegal timber seizure ever in our province. Then, on August 19, 2013, the PCCR Mobile Forest Ranger Team No. 1 seized 6 cubic meters of sen and tau timber (mainly sawn timber) at Mrs. T's house in Hamlet 8.

But according to local people, all of this wood belongs to the "illegal wood boss" Q. Many people said: Learning from the experience of being suddenly arrested in 2012 at a warehouse storing illegal wood, Q used more sophisticated and cunning tricks, misleading people, transporting illegal wood to many relatives' houses. That's why when the provincial mobile forest rangers came to confiscate the illegal wood, Ms. T cried and said that the wood she bought was used to build a house.

While Mrs. T's family is very pitiful, her husband died, she is a poor household in Dien My commune, but she collected more than 6 cubic meters of precious wood of unknown origin to build a house, who would believe it. Many local people said frankly: If you don't believe it, just go and check, Q sends illegal wood everywhere, at Q's mother-in-law's house in the back garden there are dozens of cubic meters of illegal wood, including Q's brother's house where many sawn wood panels are currently hidden. Q took advantage of many other poor households to hide wood, when the authorities arrested them, the above households all put their names on it so that Q could avoid being charged with illegal wood trading.

It is difficult to determine whether the wood is smuggled or illegal, piled up around the house of the "timber boss" named Q.

We went to the spacious house of the "illegal timber boss" Q, and saw many wooden planks scattered around the house. Mr. K - a local said: "Who would know that the wood with the forest hammer mark and the illegal wood were mixed together?" Following the winding road to Hamlet 8, Q's illegal timber warehouse had a locked iron gate, looking inside, we saw wooden planks pressed against the fence. A local said: Q's truck carrying illegal timber gathered at the warehouse and sent ordinary households home at midnight.

Oversized and overloaded trucks carrying illegal timber not only destroy village roads, but also roar, disrupting people's lives, causing dust and pollution. But surprisingly, trucks carrying illegal timber operate like that, but rarely do they see authorities come to inspect. Many people still wonder why, in 2012, Q was caught red-handed in a warehouse storing 32 cubic meters of illegal timber, but was not prosecuted. Now, Q is transporting illegal timber more openly and blatantly with large volumes, and there is no problem. According to the investigation, the "illegal timber boss" Q has become more and more sophisticated, Q often buys a small amount of "for sale" timber to use as a cover, Q currently has more than 10 points of hiding timber in the whole commune with a volume of over 100 cubic meters of various types of timber. Sometimes, Q sells all the timber in just one night.

An official of Dien My commune admitted: Q's illegal timber trading and smuggling in many houses is true. Because transporting timber damages the road, Q recently supported the hamlets with over 20 million VND to build roads. According to this official of the commune, Dien My has 7 sawmills, and the timber trading and transport activities at these sawmills are very difficult for the commune to manage. Local people here added: In Dien My, in addition to Q, the "illegal timber boss", there are about 5-7 other "illegal timber bosses" but on a smaller scale.

It is known that from November 2012 to now, in the area of ​​3 communes Dien Hoang, Dien My, Dien Yen (Dien Chau), the authorities have arrested and confiscated nearly 110 m3 of various types of wood (a very large amount of wood). But mainly the economic police agencies coordinated with Mobile Forest Ranger Team No. 1 to arrest illegal wood, while Dien Chau Forest Ranger Department rarely discovered the transportation and trading of illegal wood here. Where is the responsibility of the Dien Chau Forest Ranger Department Chief and the forest rangers managing the area?! What do the authorities think about this phenomenon?!

Talking to us, the Head of Dien Chau Forestry Department admitted: “Dien My is a hot spot and illegal timber is real, however sawmills also buy timber for sale. Since the beginning of the year, we have seized 23 cubic meters of timber, in general we have done our best…” (?).

The problem now is that the competent authorities need to investigate clearly where the amount of illegal timber that is gathered daily in Dien My “flows” from. Is there or is there not “collusion” from related organizations and individuals in the forestry sector in the area?!

Article and photos: Minh Ha