Two lorry drivers nabbed, 85 logs seized

SIBU: Two lorry drivers were detained by the patrol unit of the Region 5 marine police last night for transporting logs suspected of being illegally obtained.
District police chief ACP Zailanni Amit said when stopped by the patrol unit team conducting Ops Landai at 11.15pm at Jalan Salim near here, the drivers, aged 37 and 33, failed to show any documents on the logs.
An inspection also revealed that there were no royalty marks and property marks from the Sarawak Forestry Department on each of the logs, he said.
"The total estimated value of the seizure which includes two lorries and 85 logs is RM240,000," he said adding that the logs and the lorries had been handed over to the Forestry Department to facilitate investigations under Section 90 of the Forestry Ordinance 2015.
Meanwhile, in KUCHING, acting on a public tip-off, a joint enforcement team comprising officers from Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), General Operations Force and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission raided a sawmill at Mile 9, Matang-Kuching Road yesterday.
During the raid, 52 planks and 63 pieces of rough sawn timber, a lorry, a forklift and a bandsaw believed to have been used to process the timber products were confiscated.
SFC, in a statement here, said the corporation believed that the timber products had been illegally sourced, as the person-in-charge of the sawmill was unable to present any documentation to support lawful possession of these timber products.
"The mill operator was also unable to produce any licence or permit to operate the sawmill," the statement added.
A police report was lodged at Gita police station and the detained timbers and machinery had been handed over to Forest Department for further investigation and disposal. — Bernama