Three men were arrested yesterday after a clash with authorities as they allegedly tried to remove highly-prized phayung trees from Thap Lan National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The trio were identified as Saming Sonakornburi, Thein Traimeesaeng, both Nakhon Ratchasima residents, and Setthawut Kenin, of Khon Kaen.
A video clip featuring the clash between authorities and the alleged traffickers was released by national park chief Prawatsart Chanthep yesterday after the suspects were detained in the early morning.
The raid was launched after park officials received a tip-off that phayung wood would be trafficked from an area near Sakaerat Environmental Research Station in the park compound in Wang Nam Khieo district on Oct 21.
A CCTV system was used to monitor the illegal activity near the station.
A joint force of national park officials and soldiers from Internal Security Operations Command Region 4, led by Mr Prawatsart, was sent to the scene.
They later noticed four vehicles parked near the station at 5am yesterday.
Shortly after, authorities identified themselves to drivers and demanded to search the vehicles. Some drivers sped away and opened fire on officials, forcing authorities to fire back, with most shots aimed at the vehicles' tyres.
While the three suspects were caught, another managed to escape. The pursuit was hindered by nails scattered across the road by wood smugglers.
Four logs of phayung wood were impounded along with two multi-purpose vehicles, an Isuzu Mu-X, carrying a Bangkok licence plate, and a Toyota Innova.
The three were under police questioning to widen the probe to track down other suspects.
