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Brazilian Police Arrest 78 in Illegal Logging Ring


Illegally harvested mahogany in Brazilian state of Para
Brazilian authorities say they have broken up a major illegal logging gang, arresting 78 people.

Police say the gang had illegally cut down down an estimated $370 million of Amazon timber.

They say the detainees included the head of the Ibama environmental protection agency in Mato Grosso state and more than a dozen other employees.

The gang is accused of bribing Ibama officials to falsify permits that allowed it to transport timber across the Amazon to markets in Brazil and abroad.

Four local logging companies were ordered to shut down.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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