Cops nab 4, seize truckload of ‘hot’ coco lumber in Quezon province
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY — Police arrested four persons early Monday, Dec. 5, for allegedly transporting illegal coconut lumber in a truck in Tayabas City in Quezon province.
Quezon police reported that a truck, which they intercepted around 1:30 a.m. at a checkpoint in Barangay Mayuwi, was loaded with freshly sawn coconut lumber totaling around 5,000 board feet (11.79 cubic meters).
The police said the driver, Neil Gasmen, and his helpers, Webo Ramos, Ryan Santos, and Micheal Egliane, failed to produce a permit from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for the cargo, which prompted the authorities to confiscate the hot lumber and impound the vehicle.
The confiscated lumber was worth about P50,000 in the underground market.
Under the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, cutting coconut trees and transporting coconut lumber are prohibited unless the local PCA office permitted it. INQ
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