The Ecological Police Unit of the National Police Agency conducted an inspection in the territory of Selenge Province and discovered that nine enterprises operating in the forestry sector may have exceeded the permitted area and illegally harvested a large amount of wood. In particular, 29 “ZIL-131” cars containing 350 cubic meters of wood were seized from these companies and sealed as evidence, and investigations are underway.

The Ecological Police Unit organized two extensive inspections in the forested province in order to stop and prevent crimes and violations against the environment. The police also warned that harvesting wood from the forest during the dry season increases the risk of wildfire. 

In addition, if wood and wood materials were prepared and harvested without permission, transported, sold or bought without a certificate of origin, as specified in Article 24.6 (Illegal logging) of the Criminal Code, a fine of 450 units to 5,400 units (450,000 MNT to 5,400,000 MNT) or community service for a period of 240-720 hours shall be done, and there is a provision for imposing a penalty for restricting the right to travel for a period of one month to one year. Moreover, if this type of crime is committed on behalf of a legal entity, for the benefit of that entity, the right to operate the enterprise will be restricted and the law will impose a fine of 20,000 units to 120,000 units (20 million MNT to 120 million MNT).