100 tonnes of illegal timber seized along Arakan-Bangladesh border in past three months

By DMG 29 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
29 June 2021, Maungdaw

About 100 tonnes of timber reportedly intended for illegal export to Bangladesh were seized along with eight motorboats at the mouth of Naf River in Maungdaw, Arakan State, over the past three months.

“Eight motorboats were interdicted between April and June 28, and about 100 tonnes of timber were seized,” an officer from the Forest Department in Maungdaw District told DMG.

The Maungdaw District Forest Department’s figures show that six motorboats and just over 98 tonnes of timbers were seized between April and June 20, and lawsuits have been opened against 25 people for illegal logging.

U Moe Myint Zaw, a staff officer for the Maungdaw Township Forest Department, said another two motorboats were seized on June 21 and 28, but the amount of timber on those boats was not yet known.

Eight people were arrested on June 21 but 10 people were able to flee to Bangladeshi waters during the June 28 seizure.

“The amount of illegal timber seized this year is the highest compared with previous years. The highest seizure was in May,” said U Moe Myint Zaw.

The detainees have been charged under sections 41(a), 42(a) and 43(a) of the Forest Law, the Maungdaw Township Forest Department said.

Members of the local Border Guard Force interdicted the illegal logging boats at the mouth of Naf River, the department said.

Between October and June of the 2020-21 financial year, 12 motorboats transporting illegal timber were interdicted, the department said, including one boat that sank at the mouth of the Naf River. Timber from that vessel still has not been able to be retrieved, the department added.