Khammuane customs officers early this month seized a bus and a truck loaded with smuggled timber while they were en route to Vietnam. The drivers of the two vehicles escaped arrest.
On Oct 8, a container truck was seized by custom officers at the Naphao International Checkpoint at the Lao-Vietnamese border when illegal timber was found hidden in the truck with the destination of Vietnam. The truck was loaded with 1,233 pieces of sawn timber amounting to 38.28 cubic metres.
One day later, a bus was grounded at the border checkpoint and illegal timber was again found hidden aboard. The passenger bus was on Road No 12 and was thought to be en route to Vietnam. The relevant officers said that the bus was owned by a Vietnamese national and loaded with 23 pieces of sawn padu (New Guinea Rosewood or Narra Wood) amounting to 0.22 cubic metres and 145 pieces of sawn rosewood weighing 1.9 tonnes.
Source: KPL
