Over 100 pieces of Siamese rosewood seized in Nongkhai

NONGKHAI, June 22 (TNA) – The Mekong Riverine Unit in the northeastern province of Nongkhai seized 108 pieces of protected Siamese rosewood worth about 200,000 baht from a van, modified for wood transportation. Officials acted on a tip off that protected wood would be smuggled out of the country by a van to a neighbouring country through Phonpisai and Ratanawapi district. They found a suspicious Bangkok-registered van during the patrol on Nongkhai-Bueng Kan Road and gave a signal for the van driver to stop his vehicle for a search. The driver tried to escape and parked the van at the entrance of the International Buddhist Park. He fled the scene into the forest and remains at large. The officials found the Siamese wood without any document. The wood and the van were handed over to the Phonpisai police station for further investigation. (TNA)