KUALA TERENGGANU: State Forestry Department enforcement officers seized various types of logging machinery and timber worth more than RM2 million during a raid at the Cherul forest reserve in Kemaman on Tuesday.
Its director Datuk Azmi Nordin said five rangers from the Kemaman branch were involved in the 11am operation , which was mounted following 24-hours of observation and a tip off from the public.
Azmi said the five rangers from the forestry department units had to seek back up from the police before they managed to stop the illegal logging activity at the site.
"Our rangers had been monitoring the illegal logging activity since Monday. The raiding party discovered that the loggers had fell trees without a valid licence," he said at a press conference in his office in Kuala Terengganu today.
"My men confronted the loggers who had initially given their cooperation but things changed when a representative of the concession arrived at the site. He started threatening my men who then left the site to avoid any untowards incident," he said.
He said the rangers left the site at 1pm and returned with reinforcements comprising 20 rangers and four policemen at 7pm.
The loggers, mostly Indonesians were no longer at the site.
The logging machineries, equipment and timber were abandoned at the site.
"We seized a dozen logging machineries , including five bulldozers and four excavators and timber worth more than RM2 million," he said, adding that the team and policemen had to take a two hour off-road ride to reach the site from Chenih.
" The contractor, in his 40's from Kuantan, who was involved in the incident has been identified and will have his statement recorded next week," he said, adding that all of the seized items were placed at a store in Chenih.
He said the case was being investigated under Section 81(2) of the Forestry Act 1984 for illegal logging .