(Photo from DENR Facebook page)
Conducted by members of the newly-formed DENR-Environmental Law Enforcement and Protection Service (ELEPS) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the operation that led to the confiscation of the tree parts took place last June 15.
ELEPS Director Reuel Sorilla said 18 kilograms of agarwood, which have a market value of P2.9 million, were seized from suspects Mark Gil Espino and Nathaniel Avelino at a coffee shop parking lot on West Avenue in Quezon City.
“But the real worth of the contraband is placed at P29 million, or at least 10 times more than its market value, if we will factor in the environmental services that were lost as a result of the illegal cutting of these threatened trees,” Sorilla said.