Russian customs officers stopped the illegal sale of valuable timber to China in the amount of more than $11.5 million

Employees of law enforcement units of the Federal customs service of Russia, together with the Federal security service of Russia and the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia exposed a group of people who organized in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories illegal sale of exports to Republic of China of valuable timber. In total, about 66 thousand cubic meters of Manchurian ash and Mongolian oak were exported, totaling more than $11.5 million.

Timber smuggling was carried out by order of Chinese citizens on the basis of the CITES forged certificates issued by a Russian citizen. The scheme involved fictitious legal entities on behalf of which forged documents were prepared to obtain a certificate. A total of four organized groups engaged in consolidation, formation of consignments and timber exports were identified.

According to the materials of the Federal customs service of Russia