The Police in Edo State says it has seized over 2,000 logs at the Gelegele Seaport as part of efforts to rid the state of illegal loggers.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Kotongs Bello, said on Wednesday that the seizure was carried out in line with the directives given to the police by the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki.
The police disclosed the illegal loggers escaped by jumping into the river on sighting the Marine Police who were saddled with the responsibility of checkmating the loggers’ illegal activities.
He added that the logs were being shipped to Lagos for onward transmission to other parts of the world, adding that the logs that were intercepted in Ondo State would be sent back to Edo.
He said, “At the seaport here is the log of woods seized from illegal loggers. The seizure was done after Governor Obaseki gave the order to the Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu, to arrest and check the activities of these criminals.
“The state government has banned the felling of trees in the 49 forest reserves in the state. The woods are being taken illegally to all parts of the world which the state government is against.
“The forest reserves are for the benefit of all Edo people. The level of deforestation is high which is not to the benefit of everyone.
“Also, the illegal activities of the loggers is impacting negatively on wildlife, while the logs recovered will be handed over to the state government by the CP in due course.
“The seized logs are not just from Gelegele but from all the forests in the state. Some have already crossed to Ondo and we are working with the Marine Police in Ondo to recover the logs.”