Police seized P2.39-million worth of undocumented narra lumber that was being concealed in a truck transporting coconuts in Diadi town, Nueva Vizcaya, on September 9, the Inquirer learned on Thursday.
Police intercepted the contraband measuring 4,079 board feet loaded in a forward truck at an anti-criminality checkpoint in Barangay Nagsabaran, the Nueva Vizcaya Police Provincial Office (NVPPO) said in a statement.
The 28-year-old truck driver from the Mountain Province town of Paracelis claimed that the truck was carrying coconut husks and pulled out his driver’s license and photocopies of the truck’s registration certificate and official receipt
However, police said they saw the concealed narra lumber in a hole in the truck.
When asked for their lumber documents, the driver and his helper allegedly fled but were cornered when police gave chase.
The Bayombong provincial environment and natural resources office conducted an inventory and assessment of the lumber, while anti-illegal logging charges are being readied against the truck driver and his helper.