KANCHANABURI: Officials from the Srinakarin Dam National Park on Saturday seized a quantity of illegal timber from a house in Si Sawat district.
Thiti Somphi, chief of the Srinakarin Dam National Park, said he led a team of officials to the house in a forest near Nam Phu village in tambon Khao Chot after receiving a report from an informant that there was some illegally-processed wood at the house.
The officials arrived at the house, a one-storey brick building, at about 11am for a search. A man identified as Chatchai Kiapoeng, 29, from Suphan Buri's Dan Chang district, was in the house.
In the search, the officials found 47 planks of ma kha mong wood piled around the house, covered with grass and leaves to conceal it from the authorities.
Mr Chatchai said he bought the wood planks from other people and brought them to be stored at the house, which belonged to his wife, Daoruang Lamyaikhachi.
The officials told him that having illegally-processed wood in possession was a violation of the Forestry Act of 1941, the Forest Reserve Act of 1964 and the National Park Act of 2019.
Mr Thiti said as the officials were about to take Mr Chatchai from the house to a police station, they were obstructed by a group of local people.
The officials were able only to transport the seized wood to the Dan Mae Chalaep police station. A complaint was filed for the police to summons Mr Chatchai to hear charges against him later.