The Minister of the Savannah Region, Salifu Adam Braimah has ordered the closure of Brivywell Company, the timber firm owned by a Chinese national, Ms Helena Huang in Yipala, a farming community near Damongo.

Brivywell Company is alleged to be engaging in illegal logging and processing of Rosewood.

Speaking to journalists during a tour of the area, Mr Braimah promised to clamp down on illegal logging in the area.

He said: “We have allowed some unscrupulous persons into our vicinity taking the law into their own hands to our disadvantage… they are making huge sums of money and at the same time making the environment highly unfriendly and unhealthy.”

Mr Braimah has also set up a nine-member committee to probe the factors that militate against the efforts made so far to eliminate illegal logging.

Meanwhile, Ms Huang is on the run. She was arrested last week by the police in Tamale for attempting to smuggle four containers of Rosewood.

She was granted a police inquiry bail on the same day after her arrest but is said to have jumped bail.

The Northern Regional Police Command has subsequently filed a summon notice at the High Court to compel the surety to produce the suspect.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3FM