Laotian license plate passenger bus transporting illegal timber, opposing forest rangers

(Baonghean.vn) - When asked to take the car to headquarters, the car owner did not comply and turned the car sideways to cause a traffic jam, forcing the force to ask the 113 police to intervene.

On the afternoon of May 12, Mr. Le Dinh Son - Captain of the mobile forest rangers and forest fire prevention and fighting team No. 1 of Nghe An province said that on the afternoon of May 12, this unit coordinated with relevant agencies to search the passenger car with Lao license plate U2 7899. The results discovered a quantity of rare group 2A clove and rosewood that were cleverly hidden on the roof of the car and in secret compartments inside the car.

According to Mr. Son, earlier on the afternoon of May 11, the Nghe An mobile forest rangers and forest fire prevention team No. 1 received information from the people that a passenger car with a Lao license plate was transporting illegal timber from Laos through the border gate to Nghe An, so they organized a siege. At around 4:00 p.m. on May 11, when the passenger car with a Lao license plate U2 7899 was traveling to Mai Hac De Street, Vinh City, the forest rangers asked to stop for inspection.

The car at the headquarters of the mobile ranger and forest fire prevention and fighting team No. 1 Nghe An on the afternoon of May 12.

Checking the roof of the car, the forest rangers discovered 12 clove wooden doors without proper documents. Searching around the car, the authorities suspected that there were wood storage tunnels sealed with hydraulic systems, so they asked to take the car to the headquarters for inspection. At that time, there were about 20 passengers on the car.

Instead of complying, the car owner Nguyen Van Ha (born in 1992) and driver Pham Van Dung (born in 1971), both residing in Dien Thap commune, Dien Chau district, deliberately pressured and insulted the authorities. After many hours of persuasion, on the night of May 11, the car finally drove back to the headquarters of the forest rangers on Yen Phuc street, a few dozen meters from the unit gate, but refused to enter the yard.

Authorities opened the roof of the car and discovered many precious woods hidden.

At around 5am on May 12, the driver and the owner of the car, along with the passengers, mostly family members, suddenly started the engine and turned the car sideways on the road, causing traffic jams and putting pressure on the forest rangers in an attempt to escape. This situation forced the forest rangers to call 113 for help. Only when 113 arrived did the driver of the Laotian-plate car agree to let the car into the forest rangers' headquarters.

At 1:30 p.m. on May 12, after making the commitment records, the forest rangers and Nghe An economic police opened the secret compartments on the car and discovered many rosewood and cloves on the roof of the car.

Mr. Tran Thanh Ha - Deputy Head of Mobile Forest Ranger and Forest Fire Prevention Team No. 1 Nghe An said that before conducting the vehicle inspection, the authorities had made a commitment to the vehicle owner that if no illegal timber was found hidden, the authorities would have to compensate the vehicle owner 870 million VND. During the inspection, it was discovered that the vehicle contained storage compartments that the vehicle owner had crafted using a very sophisticated hydraulic system.

Currently, the authorities will strictly handle the case according to the law," said Mr. Tran Thanh Ha - deputy head of the mobile forest ranger and forest fire prevention and fighting team No. 1 of Nghe An.

Phuong Nguyen