VietNamNet Bridge – It is rumored that Mr. Tr and his son, residents of Tram Me village in Son Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province, are lucky to find aloes worth VND100 billion or $5 million in the core zone of the National Park of Phong Nha - Ke Bang.

Tram Me Village.

After the rumor was spread, a lot of people have flocked to the area to find the remaining aloes. Dozens of eaglewood traders have rushed to Tram Me village to purchase the rare wood.

A neighbor of Mr. Tr. said, nearly one week ago, Tr. and his son went into Sa Lu forest in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (about two hours of walking from the Tro Moong ranger station) to log wood to build a house. They luckily found a dead do tree containing a large volume of eaglewood.

The two men spent two days to carry the wood home. After that they found another living do tree with aloes. They hired a truck to take it home.

The neighbor added that Mr. Tr showed him a block of eaglewood of around 15 kilo. He said Tr has many similar aloes blocks.

"At first, when the neighbors like me went to his home to see the wood, he gave each of us a small piece of aloes. I sold it for VND1 million. Some people earned several tens of million dong from collecting remaining aloes. Now rumors has spread so fast so Tr. hid the wood," said the neighbor.

A local aloes trader said Tr. asked him to deposit VND100 billion to see the eaglewood. The trader and his friends mobilized VND50 billion and took the money to Tr.’s home but Tr. refused to show them the rare wood.

At present, not only aloes traders in Quang Binh but those from Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City... are in Tram Me village, hoping to buy the wood from Tr.

"Because of the rumors, Tr. and his son were afraid of the authorities so they have fled away. But we are still here to wait for him. I’m sure that Tr. has the best quality aloes because the aloes that we bought from others is very good," a trader said.

Tightening control

Aloe wood.

A large number of rangers of the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park have been mobilized to control the entrance to the forest.

Over the phone, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tinh (who just took office as director of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park) said he was informed of the news at 10am on May 7.

Immediately, he called an emergency meeting with the rangers to implement response plans. Rangers were mobilized to prevent locals from entering the forest to collect aloes. At the same time, a task force was sent to the scene to gather information. They group found two pits located close to each other.

Another group of inspectors went to Tram Me village. They reported that Tr and his family members were no longer at home. Their house was locked. The national park authorities have implemented measures to prevent Tr. from selling eaglewood.

Tien Phong