A new joint investigation with
@pulitzercenter reveals a Cambodian military general and top official appears to be a notorious illegal logger, per
@geraldrflynn.
Among the revelations revealed by
@geraldrflynn's new exposé is that a senior government official's involvement in illegal timber grabs goes as far back as 2013. This official’s logging activities in the Stung Treng area might now put a newly protected forest at risk.
Features writer
@geraldrflynn found that Meuk Saphannareth, alias Oknha Chey ("victorious tycoon"), who’s the Deputy Director of Prisons for Cambodia's Interior Ministry & a military general, reportedly amassed a fortune through logging operations in the country's northern provinces.
Thousands of hectares of primary forest remained untouched for decades close to Cambodia's border with
#Laos. But
@planet and
@globalforests imagery shows his company has been engaging in illegal clearing activities beyond the approved boundaries.
Although the activities of Saphannareth have gone unnoticed for years, his recent logging venture in Stung Treng has exposed him to the public eye. His close connections to top politicians & business elites may have played a role in his ability to avoid scrutiny until now.
Saphannareth has established a ferry crossing over the Sekong River, exclusively for transporting timber out of his new land concession. Local officials say there are no plans to develop these 5,602 hectares once the forest disappears.
Although stakeholders insist this timber transport is legal, journalist
@geraldrflynn was chased by a motorist while trying to uncover the destination of the resource.
This investigation supported by
@pulitzercenter demonstrates the lengths public officials go to for private gain at the expense of the environment, but also the risks reporters like
@geraldrflynn must take to discover the truth about what's happening on nature's frontlines.
*It's complicated, but here's the gist:*
A senior Cambodian government official was given a concession in an old growth forest, he's cutting beyond its boundaries using a fake name, and has a history of illegal logging.
news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lo…