Raid: Illegally-cut timber recovered

MANSEHRA: Police recovered illegally-cut timber from a house here on Wednesday.

According to District Forest Officer Riaz Kham, a team of forest guards with the help of local police raided a house in Dokhani village and recovered 35 logs of high quality timber.

However, none of the accused could be apprehended. The logs were to be transported to Haripur by motorboats via the Tarbela Lake for onward smuggling to Punjab.

Tarbela Lake is the safest route for timber smugglers who have been operating in different forest ranges of Hazara in connivance with forest department and police officials.

Some of the gangs, backed by local political leaders, are causing loss of natural resource of forest to Kohistan, Tanawal, Battagram, Mansehra, Torghar and Haripur.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2012.