Forestry officials confiscated 13 cubic meters of illegally logged timber in Stung Treng City on Saturday after discovering the wood hidden in a pond and the surrounding underbrush, an official said Sunday.
Sok Sida, chief of the Forestry Administration’s Stung Treng cantonment, said the 129 pieces of luxury and first-grade timber comprised of rough-hewn Beng, Thnong, Chres and Sokrom wood were found in Srah Russei commune.
He said that some of the 2-meter-long planks had been hidden just beneath the surface of the pond while the rest was stacked in the underbrush nearby, covered by a tarp and foliage.
Mr. Sida said his officials had linked the wood to a group of timber traders known to harvest protected tree species along the banks of the Sesan River to the north of Stung Treng City and transport it to furniture workshops in the city.
“We spent a week investigating this luxury wood before we confiscated it yesterday. When we measured it today, it was a total of 13 cubic meters,” he said, adding that the timber would be kept at the local Forestry Administration office while officials attempted to identify and locate its owners.
