Interpol targets criminal groups in illegal timber trade-BBC

2/19/13, "International raid targets illegal timber trade," BBC

"Interpol has announced that it arrested nearly 200 people in a wide-ranging international operation against illegal logging and the trafficking of timber. 

The three-month effort spanned 12 Central and South American countries, and $8m (£5.2m) worth of timber was seized. 

Interpol says the illegal logging trade could be worth up to $100bn world-wide.

It has also been linked to a rise in murders and corruption, as criminal groups move into remote forest areas.

Interpol said officials had checked lorries, ships and containers, as well as retailers and individuals, seizing a total of 50,000 cubic metres, or about 2,000 lorry-loads, of illicit timber."...






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