YANGON, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities confiscated over 550 tons of illegal timbers across Myanmar in a week, according to a release from the Forest Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation on Wednesday.
From Aug. 17 to 23, the authorities seized over 131 tons of illegal teak, over 175 tons of hardwood and 244.3 tons of other types of timbers across the country, the release said.
During the period, 80 offenders were charged in connection with the cases, along with the seizure of 37 vehicles and machinery.
According to the department's latest figures, a total of over 12,370 tons of illegal timbers including over 3,098.2 tons of teak, over 2,602.7 tons of hardwood and over 6,669 tons of other types of timbers were seized across the country in first four months of present fiscal year 2019-2020 which started in October.
During the period, 1,332 offenders were charged in connection with the cases, along with the seizure of 1,049 vehicles and machinery.
Meanwhile, the forest department has been making efforts to crack down on illegal logging and trading of forest products as well as to implement tree plantation projects in substitution. Enditem
