Nine Cambodians were arrested and sent back to Cambodia from Thailand yesterday after Thai soldiers allegedly caught them logging illegally in the Dangrek Mountains.

The men come from Phrea Vihear’s Choam Ksan district. Mor Samoun, a military official at the Cambodian-Thai border, said Thai police confiscated 33 logs of an unknown type of wood, but none of the men will face charges.

Chan Den, one of the men, said they went to Thailand in hopes of finding a job.

“I knew it was risky, but I have no job in my hometown, that’s why I decided to cross illegally,” he said.