NAKHON RATCHASIMA, June 6 (TNA) – A group of Cambodian
illegal loggers narrowly escaped arrest after allegedly smuggling precious
Siamese rosewood in a national park in Thailand’s northeast.
The Cambodians were spotted on a pickup truck near Thap Lan
National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima province Wednesday night. Thai park rangers and police officers ordered
them to stop but they quickly fled into the darkness.
Police said the truck belonged to a Cambodian gang, used for
taking loggers to the National Park.
The suspects behind the log smuggling attempt involving
Cambodian and Vietnamese businessmen have been identified along with Thai
accomplices, police said.
The incident came one day after five Cambodians aged between
22 and 44 years old were arrested for cutting down Siamese rosewood trees in a
forest in the same province.
Possessing 34 planks of the protected hardwood, they were
allegedly hired by a Vietnamese businessman to fell the trees and smuggle them
to Cambodia. 
High demand for Siamese rosewood, particularly from China,
has led to pervasive illegal logging, generating fear that the trees could be
extinct.(TNA)
