Timber worth Rs. 400,000 seized

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The rape of our forests goes unabated despite forest officers keeping vigil on illicit timber fellers in state reservation land.A group of police officers waiting in ambush detected a tractor abandoned with 12 logs of expensive timber in Palana-Hewawela in Weligama. “The timber fellers had known that we were on their trail and they abandoned the tractor with the timber and ran into the jungle. The haul of timber was worth over Rs. 400,000,” police said.

Weligama police had called upon the Matara Forest Department to identify the 12 logs of timber seized by the police.In a similar operation last year a lorry transporting illicit timber worth over than Rs 400,000 was seized at Rajavigama by the Karuwalagasweva police.

Police said that the felled timber was from the Thabbowa forest reservation and the kingpin who masterminded the operation was from Puttalam. In January, this year, Forest Range officers at Mahiyangana taken for questioning two persons transporting illicit teak logs concealed inside gunny bags. The timber valued at Rs 300.000 was seized at a checkpoint at the 49th mile post along the Padiyathalawa-Mahiyangana road.