FWD: Thai-linked syndicate poaching our precious wood

[Guest guest]

This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling.

 

Comment from sender:

 

 

This article is from The Star Online

URL:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/8/10/nation/8625942 & sec=nation

 

________________________

 

Tuesday August 10, 2004

Thai-linked syndicate poaching our precious wood

BY HILARY CHIEW

 

PETALING JAYA : The discovery of Thais with illegally collected gaharu in the

Endau-Rompin National Park last month has revealed the presence of a syndicate

with connection to Thailand.

 

International wildlife conservation group, WildAid, said the place of origin

of one of the arrested poachers confirmed that experienced agarwood cutters are

brought into the Malaysian forests to steal the highly-priced aromatic resinous

wood located in the trunk of the Aquilaria spp trees.

 

WildAid, renowned for its advertisement blitz featuring Asian celebrities like

kung fu actor Jackie Chan and Bond girl Datuk Michelle Yeoh denouncing wildlife

trade, has documented Thai poachers confirming the infiltration on video tape.

 

In early July, police nabbed two poachers in Johor. One hailed from the

Prachantakham district in Prachinburi province in central Thailand - a place

known for its notorious agarwood poachers.

 

WildAid’s Tim Redford said as enforcement tightened in the Khao Yai National

Park (KYNP), there had been an exodus of Thai poachers into neighbouring

countries including Malaysia.

 

If an observation of an ex-poacher is anything to go by, the incident in Johor

may just be the tip of the iceberg.

 

“From my estimate, there are at least 1,000 Thai poachers in Malaysia. About

80% of poachers in my village are working there. I just got news that four

villagers are leaving for Malaysia today,” said Sompong Prajobjan in an

interview on July 28 in his village, northeast of the KYNP.

 

He claimed that Thai poachers had infiltrated Malaysian national parks since

the 1980s but the number of poachers and the pace of extraction had escalated

over the last few years.

 

“The syndicate makes all the preparation like arranging transportation, lodging

along the way and the immigration and custom clearance. It is more organised

now,” he revealed.

 

Sompong also claimed that it was almost risk-free to operate in Malaysian

protected areas as patrols were minimal and there were hardly any arrests.

 

The price of the precious wood has reportedly soared from RM500 to RM8,000 per

kg over the last few years and there has been reports of frenzied collection

among the orang asli communities as well throughout the peninsula.

 

For the full story, read the StarTwo features in our <a

href= " http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/ " target= " _blank " >Lifestyle</a> section.

 

<p>

 

________________________

Your one-stop information portal:

The Star Online

http://thestar.com.my

http://biz.thestar.com.my

http://classifieds.thestar.com.my

http://cards.thestar.com.my

http://search.thestar.com.my

http://star-motoring.com

http://star-space.com

http://star-jobs.com

http://star-ecentral.com

http://star-techcentral.com

 

1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written

permission of Star Publications is prohibited.