Two men were arrested for transporting illegal luxury thnong timber on National Road 4 in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district.

The men, identified as Chea Sokhoeun, 38, a driver, and his assistant, Som Sotra, 26, were caught recently, when district Military Police found 31 pieces of thnong in their van on the way from Kampong Speu province to Phnom Penh.

A homemade rifle was also found, according to a statement posted to the National Police’s Facebook page on Monday.

The suspects and evidence were sent to the Takmao Forestry Administration for further questioning and inspection.

But Chea Theanzyna, the Takmao Forestry Administration chief, claimed his office only received one suspect, Sokhoeun.

“The driver came to hand in the documents and paid a fine of 6.8 million riel ($1,706). He has since been released,” he said.

He said the driver claimed that it was his first time transporting timber from Kampong Speu in an attempt to sell it in the capital.