In a major blow to the illegal timber smuggling business, Assam Rifles, deployed along the Imphal – Moreh road seized a huge consignment of smuggled timbers being illegally transported across the Indo-Myanmar border.
In the early hours of January 24, a fleet of 16 fully loaded trucks was found to be moving from the border commercial town of Moreh to Imphal. Noticing the movement of such a large fleet of carriers in the wee hours, the Assam Rifles personnel acted swiftly and intercepted the vehicles.
During the inquiry, it was found that the consignment of smuggled timbers were being transported without an official permit from the Manipur forest department.
The details of the same were shared with the divisional forest officer of Thoubal who reacted swiftly in sending his team for taking note of the illegal consignment. The value of the seized timber after assessment by forest officials is assessed to be worth Rs 34 Lakhs. The entire consignment was later handed over by the Assam Rifles to the officials of the district forest department of Thoubal.
On Tuesday, a team of forest officials during an inspection trip in Churachandpur district bordering Myanmar and Mizoram seized a truck loaded with logs along the Sejol-Vaukom road near Tuilienjang village. The truck was later handed over to the Divisional Forest Officer, Southern Forest Division, Churachandpur for further enquiry.
