Armed enforcement team formed to protect forest reserves

Defenders of nature: Mannan (in blue shirt) pinning the Protect Squad badge on the arm of one of the unit’s rangers during the launch at Labuk Forest Reserve.

KOTA KINABALU: Trespassers into Sabah’s forest reserves are becoming more aggressive, prompting the state Forestry Department to form an armed enforcement team.

The intruders – mostly gaharu or sandalwood harvesters and poachers – do not hesitate to use weapons against forest rangers, according to department director Datuk Sam Mannan.