2 nabbed, P810k in poached lumber seized in Surigao del Sur

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusn del Sur — Police and environmental law enforcement operatives arrested two men and seized an estimated P810,000 worth of illegally sawn hardwood lumber during an anti-illegal logging operation in the hinterlands of Lanuza, Surigao del Sur, on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Brig. Gen. Rolindo M. Suguilon, director of Police Regional Office 13 (Caraga), said the joint interdiction took place at B1 Area, Kilometer 38 in Barangay Pakwan.

READ: PCG, DENR seize P55,000 suspected illegal timber in Sibuyan

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Operatives from the Regional Intelligence Division 13 spearheaded the raid alongside the 1302nd Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 13, the Lanuza Municipal Police Station, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Enforcement Unit.

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Authorities arrested two suspects identified only through their aliases: “Juvie,” 39, of Purok 9, Barangay Caromata, San Miguel; and “Jerome,” 33, of Purok Malinawon, Barangay Maitum, Tandag City.

Law enforcers confiscated around 18,000 board feet of assorted premium timber—consisting of Lauan, Yakal, and Tangile—along with a blue Rusi cargo tricycle (“chariot”) allegedly used to haul the contraband down the mountain trails.

“We will continue to strengthen our operations, together with our partner agencies, against illegal logging and other activities that threaten our forests and natural resources,” Suguilon said. “We will also ensure that those involved in the illegal exploitation of our forests are held accountable under the law.”

The impounded lumber was turned over to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Cantilan for safekeeping and formal inventory.

The suspects remain detained at the Lanuza Municipal Police Station lockup facility facing charges for violating Presidential Decree No. 705, or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines. /jpv