Cambodian loggers arrested in Thailand

Four Cambodian men have been arrested by Thai authorities for illegal logging in a forest being conserved by a Buddhist monastery in Thailand’s Surin province. The Thais made the arrest on Sunday after monks from Wat Khoa Sala Monastery alerted officers to illegal logging inside the forest in Buachet district’s Charat commune.

Pov Pheng, deputy chief of Khmer-Thai relations at O’smach International Border Checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, said he had not received any information about the arrest from Thai authorities. The Cambodians were among 16 loggers who were caught in the forest with felled Siamese rosewood trees and logging tools, according to a local news website.

The website said: “The suspects claimed they and other loggers made frequent trips across the border into Thailand for the wood, which buyers would pay 110 baht ($3.50) per kilogram for.”

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