Large areas of wild forests in the central Vietnamese province of Nghe An have been ravaged by illegal loggers, who have brought in heavy machines to fell big trees.

But local forest management agencies said they have not heard of the devastation.

The destruction has only been uncovered and stopped by PC49, the environmental police department of the province, thanks to coordination with the local Party Committee.

Machines are taken into forests to chop down trees in the central region of Viet Nam

In late June, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper followed a raid by local police to catch illegal loggers chopping down trees in the forest on the peak of Dong Deo Mountain in Con Cuong District.

Lieutenant Colonel Ha Quang Chung, 38, disguised himself as a logger to enter the forest on June 29.

Along the only path going deep into the forest in Dong Deo were bare hills with an abundance of timber logs by the bank of a stream.

The car of the disguised policemen continued on the path, but Chung failed to access the edge of the forest because of a ‘minefield’ of numerous sharp nails to puncture the tires of any car.

The ‘minefield’ trap was set by illegal loggers to prevent police from reaching them.

A police officer was assigned to stay with the car while the others entered the forest.

They saw two other lumber fields within 30 minutes of walking on the path to the center of the woods.

Authorities at the commune level and forest management units are weak and were unable to discover the devastation, he added.

The Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has failed to perform its supervisory function.

(Source: Tuoitrenews)