Five Arrested For Illegal Logging In Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary
Five suspects—two Thai and three Vietnamese nationals—were arrested in Chaiyaphum province with 104 kilograms of illegally harvested Siamese rosewood worth over one million baht that they planned to smuggle into Laos via the Mekong River.
On July 22, 2569, Wichanan Saenpala, head of Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary, received a tip that a gang of foreign and Thai workers was illegally cutting and harvesting Siamese rosewood within the sanctuary before transporting it out of the area. He coordinated with police from Huai Yang Station in Kohn Sarn district, Chaiyaphum province, to set up an interception point on a forest exit route.
Officers stopped a white Toyota pickup truck registered in Bangkok and found five occupants: two Thai nationals named Pramote and Wikom, and three Vietnamese nationals named Hi, Fueng, and Huan. A search revealed three fertilizer bags containing 104 kilograms of Siamese rosewood worth approximately 1,040,000 baht, along with over ten related items seized as evidence.
All suspects confessed to having illegally cut and collected rosewood in the sanctuary over several days. Upon reaching the ordered quantity, they planned to transport it to Udon Thani province, then to Nong Khai province to smuggle it across the Mekong River into a neighboring country. Investigation confirmed that the three Vietnamese nationals entered Thailand legally but came to commit the forest crime.
Authorities filed nine charges covering violations of wildlife sanctuary law, forestry law, and forest reserve law, including illegal entry into a protected area, possession of prohibited timber, unauthorized timber processing, possession of banned forest products, and destruction of forest. Proceedings continue under the law.
