PANO – Border guards were highly appreciated by Deputy Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Le Chiem for their good results in preventing smuggling of forestry products across the borderline.

The Deputy Defense Minister spoke highly of their efforts over the past time at a conference on August 1st at the headquarters of the Gia Lai provincial Military Command.

The Border Guard Command presents certificates of merit to outstanding groups.

The conference reviewed the plan of tackling wood smuggling in border areas in the Central Highlands provinces, Binh Phuoc, Quang Nam, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces and implemented the Prime Minister’s mandate to close all natural forests in the Central Highlands in the 2016-2020 period.

At the conference, the participants agreed that over the past time, the illegal timber production and cross-border timber smuggling have become more complicated. Therefore, to fight wood smuggling, the Border Guard Command has taken up various plans and coordinated closely with relevant forces in carrying out patrols in the localities. So far, the force has brought to light 112 cases, capturing 98 suspects, seizing more than 2,100 cubic meters of wood and 19 automobiles. All seized exhibits were valued at nearly VND 18.2 billion.

Addressing the conference, Lieutenant General Le Chiem spoke highly of the joint forces’ achievements and asked leaders of localities, border guards and forest management force to recheck and assess the area of forests in border areas and prevent illegal transportation of forestry products from Laos and Cambodia to Vietnam.

The Deputy Defense Minister also requested relevant organizations to boost coordination in implementing the Government-assigned mission of forest protection and replanting.

Also at the conference, the Border Guard Command presented certificates of merit to three groups and five individuals in recognition of their excellent task performances.

Translated by Mai Huong