Army seizes smuggled sawn timber

The seized sawn timber which was believed to have been smuggled.
By Roger Francis

BAU: Soldiers from the Third Malaysian Infantry Brigade yesterday morning seized 409 pieces of sawn timber near a jetty at Kampung Stass and arrested two locals for smuggling timber from Indonesia using Sungai Berunas near Kampung Stass.During a patrol in the jungle at Kampung Stass last Monday, the soldiers stumbled upon the sawn timber near the jetty.It is believed that the sawn timber were brought from Indonesia through Sungai Berunas.The sawn timber was believed to have been smuggled into the country where a local will sell them to individuals.There are five entry points along the border where individuals can bring in timber from Indonesia.The entry points are at Lubok Antu, Biawak, Batu Lintang, Tebedu and Sematan. The Third Malaysian Infantry Brigade has been stationed and operating in Serikin to monitor smuggling activities. The soldiers monitoring the border however, only found a few people smuggling logs and sawn timber using the ‘Jalan Tikus’ in the area.The value of the sawn timber seized were estimated to be RM 20,000 by officers from the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) who were also at the scene yesterday.The two locals, aged 61 and 77 years, who were arrested were later brought to the Bau police station for further questioning.They are expected to be charged under the Timber Industry Development Corporation Ordinance 1977 for timber smuggling.The Brigade Commander, Brig General Jeyabalan S, who rushed to Kampung Stass after being informed by his men, when met by the reporters said: “My men have done a very good job and we have close cooperation with STIDC, PUSAKA and the police to put a stop to smuggling along the border.”When asked whether Sungai Berunas has been used to smuggle controlled items, Jeyabalan said they did not know but assured that his men would continue to monitor smuggling activities along the border.

This issue was discussed long time ago, good to see enforcement being made, need more collabration from other enforcement agencies...sometimes it need flying squad to come in and dust up the area...