The Da Nang Department of Police recently decided to impose 4-month temporary custody orders on 48 year-old Pham Phu Cuong and 30 year-old Nguyen Van An for their suspected involvement in a serious deforestation case in the city’s Ba Na-Nui Chua special use forest which was uncovered in early October 2014.   Both of them are staff members of the Ca Nhong Forest Protection Station of the Management Board of the special use forest.  The 2 rangers are said to have colluded with timber poachers.

The seized poached timber (Source: Sai Gon Giai Phong)

Local police officers also arrested 3 other suspects in the case for illegal logging activities.  They are 60-year-old Kieu Ngoc Quy from Quang Nam Province’s Duy Xuyen District, 35-year-old Kieu Ngoc Trung from the province’s Dong Giang District, and 50-year-old Pham Dinh Loi from Da Nang’s Hoa Vang District.

Last October, forest rangers discovered and seized over 50m³ of poached timber in the special use forest.  This is the largest-scale deforestation case ever to have been uncovered in the city.