A large log of the endangered sua seized by Hanoi police Thursday.

Hanoi police on Thursday night discovered a large amount of wood of a rare and protected tree at two sawmills.

Listed in Vietnam Red Book as an endangered flora species, trading in the wood or using it for any other commercial purpose is banned.

Nghia told the police the wood, estimated by the police as at more than 10 years of age, was brought from the Central Highlands and the southern parts of the country.

Another resident Nguyen Van Kha in Khanh Ha Commune was also found keeping a one-ton log from a 40-year-old sua, besides smaller ones in his kitchen and pigpen.

The wood, worth several hundred million dongs, has been confiscated and police are investigating their source.

Also on Thursday morning, a sua tree more than ten years old belonging to a family on Vu Trong Phung Street in Thanh Xuan District was stolen, the newswire Vnexpress said Friday.

The capital city police on Wednesday launched a mission against the stealing of sua trees, after one 40 centimeters in diameter was stolen in Hai Ba Trung District in the early hours of Tuesday.

Residents nearby said they saw four masked men felling the tree and carrying it away in a car.

Since early July, Hanoi authorities have reported nine cases in which sua trees in the city were chopped down at night or early morning when it was pouring.

The city had 717 sua trees as of the end of July, 509 of which were planted on roadsides and 208 in public parks, mostly in the Hoan Kiem, Cau Giay and Hai Ba Trung Districts.

Reported by Minh Quang – L. Hoai