DHS Investigating Potential Lacey Act Violations at Global Plywood and Lumber

A federal judge recently approved a Department of Homeland Security search warrant request to investigate possible wood imports that violate the Lacey Act, said a June 6 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The request involves Global Plywood and Lumber, a California company suspected of illegally importing wood from Peru. The DHS investigative arm within ICE, Homeland Security Investigation, began the investigation last year after the Peruvian Forest Service provided evidence that an illegal wood shipment was destined for the Port of Houston, the filing said.

The search is pursuant to possible violations of the federal smuggling and conservation laws, according to the application. DHS didn't comment, but told Reuters, which first reported on the warrant (here), that an investigation is ongoing and that a potentially illegal timber shipment remains at the Port of Houston. The two countries shared information under a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement, the filing said.

After CBP officials told the company the agency planned to take samples of the shipment for testing in October last year, a Global Plywood employee named Kenneth Peabody contacted his customs broker with FedEx Trade Networks "asking FedEx to amend GPL's Lacey Act declarations in order to reflect the addition of nearly 40 species of timber in addition to what was originally declared," the filing said. CBP denied entry of the timber shipment in November "based upon violations of the Lacey Act," the DHS filing said. Peabody told CBP officials the shipment is worth about $1 million, the filing said. Global Plywood filed a protest on the CBP decision, which was denied around June 2 because the company didn't "substantiate that the wood was legally harvested under Peruvian law." Global Plywood didn't comment.

Among information sought by HSI were records "relating to the international trade in wood products, including but not limited to: industry trends, legality concerns, price fluctuation, or international trade data," the DHS filing said. The agency is also seeking "records, information, or communications about laws or regulations, or inquiries about laws or regulations, relating to the harvest, possession, sale or transportation of wood or wood products, including internet search histories." The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service isn't involved in the investigation, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

The investigation is due, in part, to a 2012 report from the Environmental Investigation Agency, a non-governmental environmental protection group, HSI said. The group, which also helped spur an investigation into Lumber Liquidators import practices (see 1602020030), said (here) that the warrant request shows promising international collaboration in the fight against illegal timber sales. "The warrant that authorized the search describes proactive collaboration between enforcement authorities in the United States and Peru to crack down on the illegal timber trade," EIA said. "This cooperation model holds great promise for further enforcement against the devastating international trade in black market wood products, which is responsible for environmental degradation, human rights violations, and significant economic loss."

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the search warrant application.