Chung (third left) and his officers showing photos of the illegal logs and equipment seized in Serian.
SERIAN: The high level of cooperation between police and local villagers in the fight against illegal logging has resulted in nearly RM1 million worth of logs and equipment seized in the space of only one week.
District police chief DSP Chung Aik Peng said the high level of trust between members of the force and locals had seen a number of villagers coming down to see him personally and channel information about illegal loggers operating in their areas.
“From villagers to the headmen and even penghulus, they all came to the district police headquarters to have a dialogue, during which they channelled vital information on the exact location of illegal logging activities taking place near their villages.
“I gave them my word that we would take action against these people. I despatched my men to conduct surveillance and gather intel before moving in for the raid,” he disclosedat a press conference here yesterday.
He said their first raid under ‘Ops Seludup’ on Dec 4 in the jungle near Kampung Rimba Padi Ensengei, which was highlighted in the press, led to three more successful ones, with value of confiscation totalling RM854,700.
“Since the initial raid was publicised, many locals see that we’re serious in combating this problem ,in line with the call made by the Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem) and are now more willing to come forth with information.
“They are now our eyes and ears on the ground, and will tip us off should they come across illegal loggers operating in their areas,” he said, assuring all that the identities of informants had always been made strictly confidential.
Following the Dec 4 raid, police followed up with two more – one on Dec 9 which saw three lorries laden with illegal logs being detained during road blocks at the Gedong junction; and another on Dec 11 at an oil palm plantation near Kampung Krangan Jaya in Balai Ringin.
Apart from logs, the Dec 11 raid also saw police seizing an excavator worth RM180,000 which, according to Chung, indicated that illegal loggers were willing to spend big in purchasing heavy machineryin view of the lucrative returns that they would stand to gain.
“Those behind (the illegal activities) know that they can make a lot of money, and will spend to buy the necessary equipment and employ numerous people to carry out the illegal harvesting.
“And because it is lucrative, there are so many different groups involved. It is not one syndicate doing it (illegal logging) but many smaller ones who have no links to one another.”
Chung also said information obtained from the detained lorry drivers indicated that they
were hired to transport the logs from one point to another, and that they did not know who was really behind the illegal operation.
He said unlike a legal company, there was no organisational chart when it came to illegal logging, noting that each ‘player’ was hired for a specific role without being told anything else.
When asked on the destination of the illegal logs, Chung said their initial investigation revealed that the smuggled commodity had been destined for certain local sawmills, who are believed to be in cahoots with illegal loggers to access cheaper logs in order to maximise profits.
“We are now working very closely with the state Forestry Department, especially with its Investigation Unit, to make sure that there would be no loophole when it comes to cases such as these.”