Timber Processing Warehouse Raided in Chiang Rai
Officials raided an illegal timber processing warehouse in Chiang Rai's Muang district and recovered 109 confiscated Siamese rosewood logs, as part of a nationwide crackdown on protected timber trafficking announced by the Natural Resources
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchat Chomklin announced a crackdown on resource-based crime on September 7, 2025, backing Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's aggressive policy against illegal logging and international trade in protected timber. The operation reflects the ministry's zero-tolerance approach to activities that damage ecosystems and national assets, with orders to subordinate agencies to enforce the law strictly, investigate thoroughly, and identify masterminds, networks, and financial backers for maximum criminal penalties.
Chomklin emphasized the ministry's commitment to preventing and suppressing illegal logging and cross-border timber trafficking as a core mission to protect the nation's natural resources. He pledged that no business group or criminal network would exploit Thailand's resources without consequence, and instructed operations teams to pursue leads to identify ringleaders and associates as quickly as possible.
Artthapol Charoonchantsaa, director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Department, disclosed coordination with Nikorn Sirojanon, director-general of the Forestry Department, to combine forces. He assigned Chaichanya Sriyong, head of the Conservation Area Management Office Region 16 at Mae Sa Riang, to lead investigations into illegal logging of protected timber species as part of an intensive, ongoing collaborative effort.
The operation stems from a September 2 warehouse inspection in Pong Hung village, Huay Sak subdistrict, Muang district, Chiang Rai, where officers from the National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Department, the Environmental Crime Control Division, the Special Cases Investigation Department, and the Forestry Department discovered an unlicensed wood processing facility concealing large quantities of timber. Officers monitoring the site noticed that some logs had disappeared before the inspection, prompting a tracking operation.
Between September 6 and 7, combined task forces traced and recovered 109 Siamese rosewood logs that had been covertly relocated from the warehouse, successfully intercepting the smuggled shipment.
