AN additional 600 pieces of lumber, which were allegedly cut illegal near Quickstep in the Cockpit Country, have been seized by the Forestry Department, days after a stand-off between the authorities and residents there.

In a release on Tuesday, the Forestry Department said the pieces of lumber were illegally cut from the forest reserve which forms part of the Cockpit Country Protected Area.“The team from the agency was supported by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in conducting the operation. The agency completed the eight-hour operation to retrieve the planks, which were hidden several miles inside the forest reserve accessed from Quickstep,” the Forestry Department said in its release.

Quickstep is located on the north St Elizabeth/south Trelawny border in the Cockpit Country.Seven Forestry Department workers were allegedly barricaded in the area last weekend after they reportedly disrupted a major illegal logging operation. The team was impeded in conducting its “lawful duties” by more than 200 community members and suspected illegal loggers who refused to allow them to take the seized lumber from the area.

On Monday the police imposed a 48-hour curfew in Quickstep and neighbouring communities, and the Forestry Department said this allowed its team to conduct Monday’s operation without any adverse incident.“Since the operation began on Friday, the agency has seized over 750 planks of board taken from various native trees, including the Jamaican Mahogany, Blue Mahoe, Bitterwood, Bitter Damsel and Prickley Yellow.

“Given the scale of the operation, it was evident that the activities were organised. It is clear that this is a well-coordinated and funded activity that had been executed over several weeks,” the Forestry Department said.The department’s chief executive officer, Ainsley Henry is encouraging Jamaicans to question the source of local lumber being purchased. “Anyone who is trading in locally produced timber must have a valid and current sawmill licence. If you are unsure of what it looks like, you can visit our website for an example,” said Henry.On Monday, Accompong Maroon Chief Richard Currie doubled down on his claim that his people own the land in the protected area.“The Maroons are within their right to defend their territory, to defend the forest. Chief Currie is not a ‘lumberer’. Chief Currie is a defender of the earth… defender of the culture. That is all I have been doing since I have come here, and I have been asking for dialogue to resolve long-standing issues — particularly, the one with Quickstep and the illicit lumbering [there],” Currie said on Instagram Live Monday morning in denying accusations of him being involved in illegal logging.