Valuable Siamese rosewood seized in Si Sa Ket

SI SA KET, Sept 18 (TNA) - The police seized Payung or Siamese Rosewood timbers, valued several million baht in the northeastern province of Si Sa Ket. Police and forest officials intercepted a Kalasin- registered pick-up truck in Kantaralak district after learning that there would be Payung wood smuggling from the forest in the area. When the police gave a signal for the truck to stop for search, the driver stopped the vehicle and fled into the forest. Five Payung logs were found on the truck. The police are investigating where the wood came from and tracking down the driver to arrest him. The plant species is protected by both Thailand’s Forest Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES). (TNA)