2 illegal loggers and 2 corrupt Forestry Officers arrested
Gabon, 16 Jun 2016
First 2 loggers were arrested in a village in forest area while processing illegally cut wood and preparing it for loading onto a truck. After being asked for the documents, they presented an already expired permit, which appeared to be falsified. On top of that the permit stated 8.9 m3 of wood, while the investigation showed that the real figure was more than three times higher. They then exposed 2 corrupt Forestry Officials, who had sold them the falsified documents, containing the forged signature of their supervisor and falsified government stamps.
The 2 loggers have been prosecuted for illegal logging and sentenced to 3 months in prison. The two corrupt officers are still waiting behind bars for prosecution.