Illegal timber seized near Big Buddha
PHUKET: Officials from Department of Forestry’s Phuket office and other relevant authorities on Monday (February 27) seized 160 pieces of lumber from a piece of land next to the Nakkerd Forest Reserve.
Wednesday 29 February 2012, 11:52AM
Officials who swooped on the site, close to the entrance to the Big Buddha, found part of the six rai of SorPorKor-paper land had also been benched using a tracked excavator.
They said the 160 pieces of lumber – a mixture of 2x4-inch planks and posts – had been cut from jackfruit and durian trees that were at least 50 years old.
Excavating SorPorKor land or using it for cutting timber is illegal – this kind of document allows the land to be used solely for agriculture.
The inspection team reported the offences to the Chalong Police Station, asking officers there to track down the “owners” of the lumber, which was taken to the Forest Protection Unit in Karon.
