The Colombian Navy found 364 blocks of native wood, with a total volume of 48.54 cubic meters, at the Maritime Checkpoint of Punta Las Vacas in Turbo, Antioquia. The cargo, which did not have the valid safe-conduct for transportation, was being towed by three boats.
The finding occurred in the course of surveillance and control work, when members of the Urabá Coast Guard Military Forces inspected three boats driven by two adults and a minor, towing 13 rafts with 28 wooden blocks each. When conducting the review, it was established that they did not have the necessary documentation for the transport of this timber, so troops proceeded to contact the corresponding environmental authority.
The material found was put into custody of the Corporation for the Sustainable Development of Urabá-Corpourabá, which clarified that it was seven cubic meters of Guino (Carapa Guianensis), 21.54 cubic meters of Cativo (Prioria Copaifera) and 20 cubic meters of Higuerón (Ficus Glabrata), which are tress native to the region that would cost more than 10 million pesos in the regional market.
The two adults were arrested for the alleged crime of illicit use of renewable natural resources and were put into custody of the Attorney General's Office, while the minor was handed over to the Police of Childhood and Adolescence of Turbo.
It should be noted that the illegal exploitation of these native tress is one of the crimes that represents the greatest detriment of the ecosystems in this region of the country and of the communities that depend on the forests for their subsistence.
Source: Press-Colombian Navy
