The General Operations Force (PGA) seized 75 rubber logs of various sizes and a Hino lorry with a combined estimated value of RM55,000 during Op Taring Wawasan Kelantan in Pasir Puteh yesterday afternoon.
Southeast Brigade PGA commander Senior Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the operation was conducted at a timber storage facility in Kampung Gajah Mati at about 4.30pm.
He said a 22-year-old man was also detained during the operation after the suspicious lorry was spotted while PGA personnel were conducting patrols in Jeram Perdah.
“The lorry was followed after officers noticed it was carrying a load of timber under suspicious circumstances.
“The driver later stopped inside a timber factory, but failed to produce the required documents for the load during inspection,” he said in a statement today.
The driver was subsequently arrested, while 75 rubber logs valued at about RM15,000 were seized before being taken to Jeram Perdah Police Station for further inspection.
Ahmad Radzi said the seized timber was handed over to the Kota Bharu Forestry Department for further action, including investigation under Section 68 of the National Forestry Act 1984.
Initial investigations found that the timber had been sourced from smallholders around Kampung Kubang Batang, Pasir Mas, before being transported to the timber factory in Kampung Gajah Mati for processing.
The suspect reportedly worked transporting timber for about a year, using his uncle’s lorry and earning payment based on requests from plantation owners.
However, the timber was transported outside Kelantan Forestry Department operating hours and without a valid timber transportation permit, he added.
