At least nearly 30 cubic metres of illegal timber was discovered and confiscated from two separate warehouses in Sala Kamreuk and Chreav communes of the Siem Reap provincial capital last weekend. The owners of the locations reportedly fled the scene.  

Tea Kim Soth, director of the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, stated on January 6, that 21.5 cubic metres of timber was seized at the first site and 8.2 cubic metres at the second.

The confiscated materials consisted of top grade planks and logs and were concealed among legally authorised timber. 

However, Yin Srang, spokesperson for the Siem Reap Provincial Court, confirmed that no case files have yet been submitted to the court.

Nature Lovers Youth Association head Tan Kimsour, who conducted an investigation and called on local authorities to intervene, revealed that the owner of the warehouses is known as Channa. Channa reportedly fled before law enforcement officers arrived at the sites.

Following the raids, the evidence was handed over to the provincial forestry administration for processing. Mong Bunlim, head of the administration, was unavailable for comment on Monday, January 6.  

The Forestry Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries announced on January 2 that over 5,000 cubic metres of confiscated forest products – valued at nearly half a million US dollars – will be auctioned publicly in early February. The products were previously seized in crackdowns on illegal logging operations.