Authorities in Madagascar confiscated six containers of rosewood logs worth $360,000 – $600,000 at a port in the northwestern part of the country, reports AFP.
Customs inspectors at Iharana port near Vohemar found the contraband in a shipment bound for India via Mauritius.
Rosewood exports are currently banned in Madagascar. Trade in the precious timber has been linked to destruction of the island’s endangered rainforests.
The seizure comes amid a crackdown on rosewood trafficking. AFP reports that Ezechiel Razafindramaro, a lawmaker, was arrested last week in a separate rosewood case.
