Peruvian groups are carrying out illegal logging in Brazil and transporting the timber along tributaries of the Amazon into Peru, according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo.
It says the smugglers operate unhindered because the Brazilian revenue service patrol boats meant to stop contraband on the Solimoes river have not operated for two years.
Federal Police investigations have found that the timber, mostly cedar and mahogany, is taken to the Peruvian island of Islandia for processing. It is then mixed with legal shipments of Peruvian timber for export, the newspaper says.
Islandia is situated near Peru’s borders with Brazil and Colombia, an area notorious for the smuggling of various goods, including guns and drugs.
