Cartel unlawfully harvesting teak trees

AN ILLEGAL teak cartel has been unlawfully harvesting large numbers of teak trees from State lands for the last three years, according to a well placed environmental source.

Furthermore, the contact, who wished to remain anonymous, claims that the offenders behind the cartel include forestry workers together with other persons involved in the teak industry. “Teak trees are being cut down and stolen under the noses of certain Forestry Officers and whenever the offenders are caught, they cover it up,” he angrily told Newsday recently. He said two weekends ago, members of the cartel were illegally felling teak trees in the Brickfield area. “They go into the teak forests and cut down the teak trees with their big power saws and they cut them into plank and remove them, so that they aren’t removing logs but rather fashioned lumber.

Now, fashioned lumber means that the teak is cut into smaller, more manageable pieces so that the illegal loggers can carry them out by hand. This method also makes their operations less noticeable to the authorities because it’s easier to carry such planks out of the forests, rather than by using tractors or animal drawn carts, which are very noticeable. The planks are then sold in the big market for teak products in the country.” He said that the teak thefts are taking place all the time with the “blessings” of certain forestry officers and other people in authority. “How could they not know that teak trees are being illegally cut down on State lands? Power saws make a lot of noise in the forests and no forest officer is deaf so they must know that planking is going on.”

He also spoke of a recent incident where a group of conscientious Forestry Officers caught some police officers red handed with stolen, freshly cut teak and cedar. “Among the group of police officers was a senior officer and they were caught walking in the forest with their teak and cedar. The cops were also being escorted with police vehicles.” The source added that nothing came out of the investigation. He revealed that the former Minister of Public Utilities and the Environment Renne Dumas, instructed the Forestry Division to charge them with stealing teak, but it is not known whether this was done. When Newsday contacted the Acting Conservator of Forests, Anthony Ramnarine, he said, “No, it’s never come to my attention.”

The former Public Utilities Minister, said that no teak cartel has been in existence in the last year. He added that there is full access to everyone via an open bidding process and that there was an advertised policy in the media for persons involved in the sawmill industry to have access to source materials for wood from State lands. Dumas said that these persons are loggers and furniture makers. He stressed, however, that he no longer has any business  in this matter.