Weera Kirdsirimongkol, Chief of Kathu District, revealed that local people had reported the encroachment on Saturday afternoon and he and his team went straight there to find a backhoe being used to clear about 2 or 3 rai.
“We found a worker clearing the land. It looks like someone is planning to build something,” Mr Weera said.
“We arrested the driver and seized two backhoes, then we found a concrete path leading up the hill,” he explained, “We followed it and found another area of about 7 or 8 rai cleared. We also found eight logs of Agarwood tree up there that had been cut – that is illegal, too.”
Agarwood has a fragrance much sought after for perfumes and incense. “The wood may be worth millions of baht,” Mr Weera told The Phuket News.
He said that the area is clearly marked on maps as Forest Reserve. “We think the same person encroached on both places and cut down the trees,” he said.
The backhoe driver was taken to Kathu Police Station for questioning and the Agarwood logs were seized.
“The worker said that the person who hired him has a land paper. After we finish gathering evidence to prove that the land is Forest Reserve, and get information from the worker about who is behind this, we will report him to the police and ask them to arrest him.”
According to Wikipedia, “Agarwood … is a dark resinous heartwood that forms in Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees (large evergreens native to southeast Asia) when they become infected with a type of mould.
“Prior to infection, the heartwood is relatively light and pale coloured; however, as the infection progresses, the tree produces a dark aromatic resin in response to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin embedded heartwood.
“The resin-embedded wood is … valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and thus is used for incense and perfumes.”