This morning, the police officers of the Public Order Service – Bureau for the Protection of the Forestry and Fisheries Fund, under the supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Câmpulung Court, executed 20 home search warrants, in Argeș County, in a case concerning illegal tree cutting .
The actions took place at the headquarters of a forestry bypass, at the headquarters of some prominent economic operators, as well as at the residences of persons investigated for committing crimes of cutting, theft and illegal sale of trees.
The investigations are carried out under the aspect of committing the crimes of unauthorized cutting of trees and theft of wood material from the national forestry fund, abuse of office, computer forgery, forgery in documents under private signature and use of forgery.
From the research it was established that, from November 2023 until now, with the complicity of some forestry workers within a private forestry bypass, several people would have cut down, without respecting the forestry regime, trees from the national forest fund, from the Mihăești locality, which would be stolen from him and traded illegally.
It all started after several people were discovered transporting wood with vans. The shipments were not accompanied by the documents required by law. By going to the wire, the police and prosecutors discovered a whole network.
Following the actions carried out today, 19 people were taken to the police headquarters, for now for questioning.
The home search actions were carried out with the support of policemen from the Câmpulung Municipality Police and the Weapons, Explosives and Dangerous Substances Service, the fighters of the Argeș Special Actions Service, the Argeș gendarmes, but also the representatives of the Argeș County Office of the Ploiești Forest Guard.
Footage taken by the Romanian Police during the operation can be watched by following the link SEARCHES OF PERSONS WANTED FOR FORESTRY OFFENSES (youtube.com)
The entire operation took place in the context in which the draft of the new Forestry Code, under debate in the Parliament, proposes more drastic measures to combat illegal cutting of forests. The initiators of the project demand more severe punishments for all those involved in the theft of wood material and the destruction of forest areas.
