An enforcement officer conducts checks on the seized commodity.
KOTA SAMARAHAN: A total of 650 sawn timber of various sizes and species were confiscated by a team of enforcement officers from state Forest Department (SFD) during a raid on a sawmill here yesterday.
The team also seized a bandsaw, believed to have been used to process the timber, from the site.
The department’s state director Sapuan Ahmad said the success of the raid could be attributed to investigative works by his men over the past few days, which were set up following public tip-off.
He disclosed that investigation papers would be opened to estimate the value of the seized items, in addition to making sure that the perpetrators would not get off scot-free.
“The investigation will be carried out based on Chapter 71 of the Forest Ordinance 2015. If convicted, the perpetrators would face severe punishment,” he said.