Former executive sentenced to 300 days in prison for receiving stolen wood in Arauco

In a ruling that marks a milestone in the fight against wood theft in the Southern Macrozone, the court sentenced Rodrigo Campos Saballa to 300 days of minor imprisonment at its minimum degree as the perpetrator of the repeated crime of receiving wood of illicit origin. The sentence, handed down on June 15, also includes a fine of 20 UTM and disqualification from holding professional titles during the term of the sentence. However, the court granted the benefit of conditional suspension of the sentence for one year.

According to the evidence presented by the Prosecutor's Office and Forestal Arauco, between March 2020 and October 2021, Campos Saballa facilitated the acquisition of wood by the company Foraction Chili S.A. from a criminal organization led by Cristian Reyes Castro. This network was dedicated to commercializing wood stolen from forest properties in the province of Arauco, using the company Forestal Queule SpA as a front.

The investigation revealed that, despite internal warnings about irregularities in the source properties, operations continued without interruption. The total volume of wood involved exceeded 121,000 cubic meters, valued at over $7.5 billion, making this case one of the most significant in recent years in the region.

This conviction is part of a broader investigation conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office into a network dedicated to the theft, transport, and illegal commercialization of wood in the Southern Macrozone. Authorities have stated that this case represents an important advance in the fight against organized crime linked to illegal forestry exploitation, a scourge that affects both the legal economy and the safety of rural communities.