CHIANG MAI — Police have arrested a suspected transnational teak trafficker after intercepting a lorry transporting illegally sourced timber in northern Thailand, authorities said.
Officers from the Environmental Crime Suppression Division stopped a large articulated lorry on Highway 1103 in the Mae Long area of Hang Dong subdistrict, Hod district, Chiang Mai province, on January 8, 2026. A search of the vehicle uncovered four large teak logs, concealed under a tightly secured tarpaulin.
The driver, identified only as Daeng, 42, told police he had transported the timber from Mae Sariang district in Mae Hong Son province, allegedly for delivery to a processing factory in Ayutthaya province.
Police Lt. Col. Jirayu Inkaew, an investigator with Division 4 of the Environmental Crime Suppression Division, led the operation alongside Lt. Col. Asira Ritdet of Chiang Mai Provincial Police. Officers from multiple units took part in the interception.
Maj. Gen. Anek Taosupap, commander of the Environmental Crime Suppression Division, said the arrest followed a broader operation targeting illegal teak logging and cross-border timber trafficking. Authorities had received tips from local residents about teak trees being cut in forest areas of Mae Sariang, with smugglers falsely claiming the wood came from legally planted trees on agricultural reform land.
He said the network allegedly produced falsified documents to legitimise the timber before transporting it to processing factories in Ayutthaya. Following the intelligence, investigators were ordered to monitor key transport routes linking Hod and Mae Sariang.
During patrols, officers spotted the suspicious lorry parked along Highway 1103 in Hod district. Inspection revealed four freshly cut teak logs of unusually large size. Although the driver presented documents claiming the wood was legally sourced from agricultural reform land, further examination raised multiple red flags.
Police said the logs’ large circumference indicated the trees were more than 50 to 70 years old, inconsistent with land title documents issued only a few years earlier. The timber showed fresh chainsaw marks, lacked official markings and showed no signs of prior use, confirming it was protected forest timber, not plantation-grown wood as claimed.
Authorities have charged the driver, a 43-year-old woman who owns the factory that purchased the timber, and a 63-year-old man alleged to have sold the wood. Charges include illegal logging, possession and transportation of protected timber under the Forestry Act.
Maj. Gen. Anek said the operation appeared to be part of an organised network, spanning illegal logging in watershed forests, document forgery to launder timber origins, and transportation to processing facilities in central Thailand. He said police have ordered an expanded investigation to identify financiers, transport networks and any state officials who may have been involved or provided support.
Authorities said all those responsible would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
