Expanding investigation into the felling of sa mu in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve

(Baonghean) - Approaching 5 subjects who cut down 3 hundred-year-old Sa mu trees in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, who are being detained at Que Phong District Police, although they are cunning, they eventually revealed their accomplices. The Investigation Police Agency of Que Phong District Police also confirmed that they are expanding the investigation of the case...

Portrait of the illegal logger

The five illegal loggers currently being detained at Que Phong District Police include: Lu Van Duong (born in 1976), Vi Van Hoai (born in 1979), Vi Van Binh (born in 1994), Luong Van Tam (born in 1975), all residing in Muong Phu village, Thong Thu commune, Cao Minh Quyet (born in 1986), residing in Muong Ham village, Chau Cuong commune, Quy Hop district. Because Cao Minh Quyet is from outside Que Phong, we asked the investigating officers to let us meet him first. Quyet is tall, has dark skin, and always looked scared when we met him. He talked a lot, saying that he did not have a stable job at home, sometimes working for a stone quarry owner, sometimes working for a tin mine owner; when the weather was bad, he stayed home to help his parents with farming. Two years ago, he went to Muong Phu village, Thong Thu commune, met Luong Thi Nhung, and proposed his love. Nhung reciprocated his feelings, so the two decided to get married. A short time ago, he went to his fiancee's house and met Vi Van Hoai and Luong Van Tam, Nhung's cousins. These two "uncles" invited him to go into the forest to harvest sa mu wood. "They had chainsaws and tools. Since I had no job, I followed them," Cao Minh Quyet trembled. Then he said that on June 27, he went to the area with sa mu trees in Sub-region 59 (Pu Hoat Nature Reserve) to cut trees and build a shack, and on June 30, he started cutting down the sa mu. On July 3, he was discovered and arrested by border guards, forest rangers of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve and Hanh Dich Commune Police.

Nghe An Newspaper reporter approached subject Cao Minh Quyet.

Who organized the exploitation of sa mu? After exploitation, how will they transport it back for consumption? Cao Minh Quyet answered: "Mr. Vi Van Hoai and Mr. Luong Van Tam are the leaders in cutting and sawing the wood, and this is the first time I have followed. I have only heard that after cutting down the trees and sawing the planks, they use an engine and a winch to lift the wood down to the Lao border, where there will be buyers...". Who are they? "I really don't know, I have only heard that they are Lao Mong people" - Quyet said.

The second logger we met was Vi Van Hoai. Short in stature, Vi Van Hoai had a cunning and deceitful face. He admitted the time of organizing the exploitation and the method of illegally transporting sa mu, but he continuously denied the information Cao Minh Quyet had told us about him, insisting that this was the first time he had gone to work with wood organized by Luong Van Tam and that Tam was also the one who directly cut down the trees. Regarding the consumption, Vi Van Hoai said that Muong Phu village is adjacent to Thong Thu border gate, so they often cross the border. When they got there, some Mong Lao people in Nam Bong village said that there was a lot of sa mu wood in Hanh Dich, so if they organized the exploitation and brought it down, there would be buyers. When Luong Van Tam set up a group to exploit, he followed...

To Luong Van Tam, the words of Vi Van Hoai and Cao Minh Quyet were intended to blame him. Tam was tall, strong, with a rather cold and stubborn face. He lowered his head to avoid the gaze of the person opposite and said: "All 5 of us organized, bought tools and worked together, I was not the leader. This was my first time working on wood because my wife was sick and had no money to pay the debt...". Why was working for the first time so "super"? Dare to cut down large trees that could take dozens of people to hug in a remote area with difficult terrain and residence? How could you cut 7 large, even wooden boards with a chainsaw? Hearing that question, he looked surprised for a moment, then looked away and fell silent, a moment later saying: "I know Xay Vu, a Mong Lao in Nam Tay village. This village is only a 15-minute walk from Thong Thu Border Gate. Xay Vu specializes in woodworking so he gave him money on credit to buy chainsaws and other tools...".

The incident is particularly serious.

Five illegal loggers were arrested on July 3, 2015. Two days later, Que Phong district organized a working group to examine the scene and assess the reserve of the three cut down sa mu trees to be about 235m3 (round wood). According to Decree 32/2006/ND-CP of the Government on endangered, precious and rare forest plants and animals, sa mu trees belong to group IIA with high economic value, a small population in the wild, and are at risk of extinction and need to be strictly protected. According to Lieutenant Colonel Dang Viet Hieu, Deputy Head of the Investigation Police Agency of Que Phong district police, this was determined to be a serious incident, so the district police decided to prosecute the case; prosecute the accused and temporarily detain all 5 subjects. Lieutenant Colonel Dang Viet Hieu said that according to Clause 2, Article 175 of the Penal Code, not counting the large trees that the loggers cut down to build shelters and clear paths, their actions have exceeded the especially serious level many times. To ensure compliance with the prescribed legal framework, in addition to establishing records, collecting evidence, and physical evidence, Que Phong Police have taken samples (samu wood at the scene) and sent them to the competent authority for appraisal.

The chainsaw blade was welded to a length of 1.6m (evidence recovered).

The illegal logging tools of the 5 loggers seized by Que Phong police included 1 chainsaw; 1 large-capacity motorbike engine, 1 chain winch, 2 chainsaw blades. According to investigators, to cut down a large sa mu tree that could take dozens of people to hug, the loggers "smartly" cut and welded the saw blades up to 1.6m long. "The largest chainsaw has a blade only 1.2m long. The chainsaw of these guys was welded 3 times, up to 1.6m long. Their camp was solidly built; the sawn timber was 1.1m wide, 3.3m long, and 0.15m thick, just that shows they are professional loggers..." - an investigator said.

Many people who have been to the scene think that they are organized, that there is a network behind them. We also think so. It is unclear what the investigation agency's opinion is? Lieutenant Colonel Dang Van Hieu said that the police investigation agency has identified Luong Van Tam as the ringleader. Before organizing the exploitation, Tam had connections with a number of Lao Mong subjects. After that, they prepared tools, crossed the border into Laos together, from there, returned to the sa mu forest area in section 11, Sub-region 59, Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, built a shack, cut down trees, sawed wood panels and used engines, winches to bring them down to the Laotian residential road only 1,020m away to sell. "They have 5 subjects. They assigned a deputy and a group leader to carry out the illegal exploitation of sa mu wood. Therefore, it is confirmed that they are an organization. As for who is behind them, the investigation agency is currently expanding the case..." - Lieutenant Colonel Dang Viet Hieu affirmed.

Mr. Lang Van Minh, Vice Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee, and the working group went to the scene of 3 sa mu trees cut down by illegal loggers. During the discussion, he also agreed that behind these subjects there was a supply, collection and consumption network. Going up to the illegal loggers' shack, they saw that in addition to rice, meat and salt, there were also 4 bottles of Lao wine. Who supplied them? After finishing the wood, they could not bring it down to the villages in Hanh Dich because the way down was far, extremely difficult, and there were many forces guarding it. "I am sure they have a network..." - Mr. Minh discussed.

Many knowledgeable people say that the price of wood in Laos is many times lower than in Vietnam. It is not enough to say that the 5 subjects cut down the sa mu, sawed it into panels and then sold it to the Lao Mong people. The Mong subjects were only a link in the chain that carried out the collection; after that, the wood would be "documented" to "transform" into Lao wood and exported back to Vietnam. Is this true or not? The investigation agency has stepped in to expand the case, hoping to find a clear answer!./.

Nhat Lan - Viet Long