Over 800kg of rosewood confiscated in Kampong Thom

[geovalin]

Phak Seangly and Jack Davies

More than 800 kilograms of rosewood were confiscated in Kampong Thom’s Sandan district yesterday in what a Forestry Administration official said was the district’s first seizure of the UN-protected species in years.

Provincial Forestry Administration director Teb Nhata said a total of 175 rosewood logs were discovered on a plantation by Forestry Administration officials on Tuesday. The owner of the plantation was called in for questioning, but Nhata said he claimed to be unaware of the timber and was later released.

“We haven’t found the owner of the timber yet, which means it was abandoned for fear of arrest,” Nhata said, adding that local authorities have been asked to join the hunt for the owner.

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