KUCHING – Gangsters have been blamed for the illegal logging in Sarawak.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said gangsters were targeting wildlife sanctuaries and areas along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border. "The illegal logging activities are so well-organised that only gangsters would be capable of something like this," he said after attending the signing of an underwriting agreement between Sarawak Plantation Berhad and CIMB Investment Bank here.
Taib, who is also the state Minister of Planning and Resource Management, said in the past, illegal logging was sporadic and unorganised as the loggers were villagers.
"Now, it has become more organised because the gangsters have taken over."
Taib praised the police for taking action against the gangsters.
"The police have done a lot to curb the gangsters’ activities over the last few months."
Taib said the enforcement unit of the Sarawak Forestry Corporation was also going all out to catch those involved in illegal logging.
"I am happy to see that the unit has caught a number of illegal loggers and seized a large quantity of logs from them.
"Many of the logs were taken from the wildlife sanctuaries and along the Sarawak-Kalimantan border," he said.