Police discovered 115 pieces of po mu wood (8.2 cubic meters) hidden right in the premises of Nam Giang Border Gate Customs Branch (Quang Nam), behind the office building.

According to a source from the Nam Giang District Police (Quang Nam), on July 16, the police discovered 115 pieces of po mu wood (8.2 cubic meters) hidden in the premises of the Nam Giang Border Gate Customs Branch, behind the office building. The customs force could not explain the origin of this wood.

That same evening, Nam Giang District Police continued to seize 25 blocks (nearly 1.2 cubic meters), hidden in a resident's house near the border gate. "This amount of wood has just been exploited, very new. It is similar to the type discovered by locals nearly a week ago," said the source.

At noon on July 17, the police discovered two more gathering sites containing 85 pieces of po mu wood hidden in the bushes. "We suspect that the loggers were preparing to take this wood away. The two gathering sites are about 50 meters from the customs office and about 500 meters from the Dac Oc Border Guard Station," said the police officer who directly seized the po mu wood.

Dozens of wooden blocks were hidden about 10 meters from the Dac Oc Border Guard Station. Photo: HT

Previously, on July 9, while going to the forest, La Dee commune people discovered 280 pieces of po mu wood (28 cubic meters) that had been sawn according to specifications and hidden about 500 meters from the Dac Oc Border Guard Station (belonging to La Dee Border Guard Station), so they reported it to the authorities. This area is located on the border belt, about 100 meters from Laos, so Nam Giang district police and forest rangers had to ask permission from the border guards to enter the forest for inspection.

Lieutenant Colonel Ha The Xuyen, Deputy Chief of Police of Nam Giang District, said that at least 60 po mu trees over 100 years old, with a diameter of nearly one meter in the Nam Song Bung protective forest, were cut down. The scene of this deforestation was a few kilometers from the border station. After cutting down the trees, the loggers only took the lower part, the rest were scattered in the forest.

"There are still many blocks of wood inside that have not been transported out yet," said Lieutenant Colonel Xuyen.

In the protective forest, felled timber still lies scattered. Photo: HT

Quang Nam Forest Rangers then initiated a criminal case and transferred the case to Nam Giang District Police for further investigation. On the evening of July 15, police continued to discover dozens of wooden planks hidden in the bushes, right behind the Dac Oc Border Guard Station.

All people entering and leaving this area are managed by the border guards. Many gathering places were discovered near the unit's headquarters, so there is suspicion that the border guards are assisting illegal loggers.

Regarding this, Colonel Duong Hoai Nam, Commander of the Quang Nam Provincial Border Guard, said that so far he trusts his subordinates. “My soldiers did not violate the law,” Mr. Nam said, adding that he would comment later on the discovery of wood right next to the border guard station.

The incident is being clarified.

According to VNE