Forestry and police officials in the Sagaing Division town of Myinmu on Wednesday seized illegal timber being trafficked in a military truck.

The officials said they stopped and searched the lorry, which was accompanied by two servicemen, following a tip-off. They found 29 logs of milled lumber, weighing a total of nearly three tons.

Myinmu Township police commander Soe Myint told DVB the two soldiers belonged to a logistics battalion, based in Kale, which is about 100 km from the Burma-India border.

“The police and officials from the Forestry Department searched the vehicle based on a tip-off,” said the police commander. “The soldiers are from a logistics battalion in Kale. We are making arrangements to hand them back to their unit to face disciplinary action in accordance with army regulations.”

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He said the two soldiers will face prosecution by the Forestry Department under the 1947 Public Property Protection Act.

In July, Sagaing Division police announced that they and local authorities had seized more than 800 tons of hardwood timber so far this year as illegal logging operations increase amid a one-year moratorium on logging.