Kota Kinabalu: Forestry officials arrested seven people – a Cambodian and six illegal immigrants – for possession of protected gaharu wood (agarwood) worth millions of ringgit at a house in Keningau on Feb 2.Sabah Conservation Chief Datuk Sam Mannan said in a statement, Monday, that the seven were believed to have obtained the gaharu from protected forests, including parts of the Maliau Basin.
"It is believed that the gaharu is worth millions of ringgit," he said, adding that the raid was made after a month-long surveillance.
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He said it is believed that the seven suspects were involved in the international black market trade.
Mannan said when the forestry officials made the raid they found the wood packed and sealed, believed ready for export, and a four-wheel drive vehicle used for transporting the gaharu, a protected species under the State's laws and the international accord, CITES, on the trade of endangered species.
"We will make sure that these suspects are charged in court for the offence and given deterrent sentences due to the serious occurrences of gaharu theft in Sabah," he added.
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