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| The truck transporting hương or Pterocarpus macrocarpus wood is being held by police pending further investigation. – Photo vietnamplus.vn |
Viet Nam News
HÀ NỘI — Nearly 1 tonne of highly valuable timber was seized on a truck by police in the capital city on Monday.
Hoàng Thị Hiền, the driver, from Ninh Bình Province’s Gia Viễn District, said she was hired to transport the timber from Ninh Bình to Băc Ninh Province.
She could not show any papers relating to the origin of the timber, which is known as hương or Pterocarpus macrocarpus . The truck and its cargo, are being held by police pending further investigation.
Pterocarpus macrocarpus is a durable wood resistant to termites. It is used for furniture, construction, as well as tool handles.
Last week, a timber smuggling case was uncovered by a joint team of the traffic police and investigation police from Hà Nội’s Thường Tín District. The team stopped a car travelling across the district’s Hiền Giang Commune and found over 1.2 tonnes of rare wood, known as bách xanh or Calocedrus macrolepis.
Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Thanh, the owner, failed to show legal document for the timber’s origin. She told police that she bought it from Sơn La Province.
Calocedrus macrolepis is a rare, valuable wood. It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable. Police are investigating the case. — VNS
