Romanian Police: the announcement expected by many Romanians

The Romanian Police made a very important announcement that many Romanians were waiting for, the authorities making new controls to check how Romania's forest fund is exploited, and how legal the cutting of trees is.

"Yesterday, at the national level, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the Romanian Police, the Romanian Gendarmerie and the Border Police, carried out a large-scale action, based on the Forest Shield Action Plan, to prevent and combat illegal acts in the forestry sector.

This operation was attended by public order, road, economic crime investigation, transport and other structures of the Romanian Police, gendarmes and border police, who acted to combat illegal activities in the field of exploitation, processing and marketing of wood material.

Thus, the movement of wood material was controlled, road filters were organized at the mandatory crossing points, at the national level.

The personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs engaged in this mission, in collaboration with specialists from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests (forest guards, specialists of ROMSILVA and forestry detours), carried out checks of the circulation of wood material in 1.568 road filters and 386 specific activities of control on the line of processing, storage and utilization of wood material.

As part of the action, 118 roundwood cutting facilities, 297 wood material warehouses and 40 markets, fairs and barns were checked.

Also, 51 crimes were detected (21 provided by the Forestry Code and 30 by the Criminal Code) and 2.910 contraventional sanctions were applied (the most under Law 171/2010 on the establishment and sanctioning of forestry contraventions), in the amount of 1.992.130. XNUMX lei.

At the same time, 2.554 cubic meters of wood were confiscated, worth almost 800.000 lei (working wood, timber and firewood).

Also within this action, more than 1.500 other assets were confiscated (2 mechanical saws, 1 tractor, 1 motor vehicle and 1.498 other materials).

The police and gendarmes in Arad were alerted by a forestry worker about the fact that, in a canton, during the logging process of a party, several illegal tree cuttings took place.

Following the investigations carried out, on August 20, 2020, an administrator and a mechanical shaper were detected, who, between August 1-19, 2020, allegedly illegally cut 250 trees of various species, representing 170 cubic meters, worth of 114.000 lei.

In the case, investigations are being carried out for the crimes of inciting the illegal cutting of trees, theft of trees and cutting trees without a right.

The two were detained for 24 hours, to be presented to the magistrates, with a view to taking legal measures.

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We remind you that, in the first 7 months of this year, under the specialized coordination of the Directorate of Public Order, the police acted at the national level to protect the forest fund and prevent and combat illegal acts in the forestry field.

Thus, 25.388 controls were carried out to verify the origin, processing, storage and utilization of wood, as well as to verify the legality of the transport of wood material.

6.735 targets were checked (forest farms, logging facilities, warehouses, fairs, markets, barns or forest bypasses) and almost 53.000 vehicles were stopped in traffic for control.

For the irregularities found in the forestry field, 4.295 criminal files were registered in which 946 people are investigated and 8.202 contraventional sanctions were applied (according to Law 171/2010 on the establishment and sanctioning of forestry contraventions), of over 13.220.000 lei.

Also, more than 51.221 cubic meters of wood without legal documents (working wood, timber, firewood), worth almost 15.000.000 lei, more than 200 mechanical saws, axes, axes were confiscated and were made unavailable 4 tractors and 9 hypo couplings.

619 calls were registered that signaled possible illegal shipments of wood material, 143 of which were confirmed following checks.

These actions, carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will continue to be organized to prevent and combat illegal acts in the forestry field."