The Fifth Brigade of the Seventh Precinct of the National Police Agency announced today that three mountain poachers driving a private car were arrested for stealing camphorwood in the mountainous area of Nanzhuang Township. They had thought they could avoid detection by pretending to be hikers, but the overwhelmingly strong smell of camphorwood gave them away, leading to their immediate arrest with the stolen goods.

Deputy Brigade Commander Lu Shizhe of the Fifth Brigade stated that on the 15th, together with personnel from the Hsinchu Forest Management Office, they lay in ambush in the mountain forest trails of Nanzhuang Township, Miaoli County, despite the rain. They spotted a private car coming down from the mountain, and when officers approached to question the occupants, the three men claimed they were just "taking a walk" in the mountains.

Although the car’s exterior seemed normal, alert officers detected a strong camphorwood odor inside and immediately asked the driver and passengers to step out for inspection. Sure enough, four cut camphorwood pieces were found in the back seat and trunk of the car.

At this point, the suspect surnamed Liu, who had a prior record for theft and drug offenses, finally admitted that due to a need for money to support his drug habit, he had recruited his elder brother and another man surnamed Chen to steal camphorwood from the mountains. He thought that driving a private car during rainy weather would help them evade police detection, but they were still caught.

The Fifth Brigade of the Seventh Precinct noted that in the past, mountain poachers stealing state-owned timber usually used high-clearance vans or trucks equipped with rain shelters to facilitate driving on mountain roads and increase cargo capacity. This time, the suspect surnamed Liu deliberately used a sedan in an attempt to make officers think they were hikers.

But despite all their calculations, the suspects didn’t expect the stolen camphorwood’s strong smell to give them away. They were not only handed over to the district prosecutor’s office for investigation according to the law, but under the newly revised “Forest Law,” their vehicle was also confiscated—truly a case of “losing the wife and the soldiers.” 1050316

(CNA)