Urals customs officers uncovered 117 million rubles worth of timber smuggling

Ural customs officers  revealed 44 facts of smuggling of timber and lumber in 2023. This is one and a half times more than in 2022. The volume of stopped smuggling of timber increased to 17.5 thousand cubic meters. Most often illegally smuggled timber was attempted to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

The courts considered criminal cases on 14 criminal episodes of timber smuggling. The defendants were sentenced to two and a half to four years of suspended imprisonment with fines from two hundred to four hundred thousand rubles

In addition, since last year the practice of selling timber seized in criminal cases has been introduced. Investigators have already received court orders to sell seized timber in three criminal cases. In the near future, the smuggled timber will be sold, and the funds from the sale will go to the budget