Chinese loggers face charges
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The Kachin State government has taken legal action against more than 100 Chinese nationals allegedly involving in illegal logging in accord with the 1947 Public Properties Protection Act.
If guilty, they could face long prison sentences for breaching immigration, forestry and drug laws, according to the Ministry of Forestry.
The Chinese are alleged of having been stealing Myanmar’s timber for several years. They were arrested earlier this month with the assistance of the military.
Around 436 trucks were used to carry the logs along with one excavator, two cranes, nine motorbikes and other vehicles. Opium was also seized.
China tops the world in illegal wood trading with 90 per cent coming from Myanmar, according to the timber association.
In 2014, approximately 40,000 tonnes of illegal timber was seized, the majority of which was felled by Chinese citizens, the authorities said.
