$20M Worth of Rosewood Seized in Single District

Authorities in Kompong Thom’s Stong district have confiscated 109 cubic meters of high-quality rosewood worth an estimated $20 million from illegal traders since the beginning of the year, officials said yesterday. According to Tong Yi, chief of the district Forestry Administration, forestry officials have seized a total of 22, 777 assorted pieces of rosewood from 107 vehicles that include Cadillac Escalades, Toyota Land Cruisers, Land Rovers and military vehicles since January All of the confiscated goods are currently being stored inside a ware house at an unknown location in Kompong Thom province, and the government now plans to conduct a bidding process to sell the luxury timber with supervision from the Ministry of Finance.

“We have made a request to the Ministry of Finance to auction the rosewood with expectation that it is worth $20 million,” Mr. Yi said, adding that the money would be paid into the national treasury. This is our plan, as the price of rosewood is soaring,” he said. The rosewood that has been confiscated in Strong district is for one of three checkpoints that police have set up across Kompong Thom province to stop vehicles suspected of illegally transporting the luxury timber to Vietnam. Where much of it is thought to continue on its journey into China. The figures show just how much money the figures show just how much money there is to be made in the illegal logging of rosewood, most of which is felled by Cambodian loggers in Thailand. This year, at least 15 Cambodians have died after being shot by Thai soldiers who patrol Cambodia’s northwest border for illegal loggers. With much of the woodland in Cambodia having already been deforested, loggers are now venturing  further afield in search of the valuable commodity, which has seen dramatic price hikes recently due to its increasing scarcity. But authorities have struggled to clamp down on the problem due to strong connections that have been forged between the military and illegal loggers.