Maungdaw: Two Burmese police constables were caught red-handed by authorities in the western border town Maungdaw when they were trying to illegally transport teak to Bangladesh, according to a police official.

The arrested police have been identified as Corporal Thein Htay and Constable Hla Maung Thein, both from police regiment number 2 stationed in Maungdaw.

On 29 February, a four-member police team led by Thein Htay and a group of timber smugglers were readying several tons of teak logs to smuggle across the border to Bangladesh.

When higher authorities received a tip-off from local villagers, they sent an anti-smuggling team comprising of officials from several departments to the area to take action.

The team arrested the two police constables with the teak, while two other policemen and the smugglers managed to evade arrest.

Authorities have sent the two police constables to jail and are currently searching for the other police officers and smugglers who were involved in the illegal activity, the police official said. 

In Maungdaw Township, there are many teak forests along the Mayu Range, but most of the teak is becoming depleted due to smugglers and law enforcement officials illegally exporting teak to Bangladesh after stealing it from the forest.