12 vehicles carrying illegally procured forest produce seized

Una, June 8

The Una Forest Division on Friday night seized 12 pick-up trucks carrying rosin, khairwood and other wood species. The forest produce was being illegally smuggled out of the state to Punjab.

Divisional Forest Officer Sushil Rana said multiple teams were constituted to stop or intercept suspected vehicles on different routes. He revealed that IFS probationer Kanha Ram lead a team in Amb subdivision and impounded all vehicles and seized the forest produce.

The DFO said two vehicles were transporting about 100 containers of illegally tapped pine rosin. He said one of the impounded vehicles was laden with khairwood, while the other nine pick-up vehicles were carrying different types of wood, which included banned and open species. He said occupants of none of the 12 vehicles had any valid documents in their possession and hence all produce was assumed to be illegally harvested from the forests in the state and being smuggled out to Punjab for sale.

Sushil Rana said in the last two days, the Una Forest Division had seized 24 vehicles carrying illegal forest produce. While the forest produce was fetched from the forests in Hamirpur and Kangra districts, the onus of checking illegal smuggling of forest produce lay only on the Una Forest Division, Rana said. He said these vehicles do not get checked at any point in their respective districts.

The DFO said smugglers had modified their tactics with one layer of rosin tins being concealed under two-three layers of plastic crates which are generally used to transport fruits. He said cases under the relevant sections of the Indian Forest Act had been registered and police help was being sought to track the network.