THE communication minister for Congo (Brazzaville), Francois Ibovi, announced on Thursday the confiscation of unregistered sawmills using logs stolen alongside the Congo River. About 12712m of timber worth 1,073-billion CFA francs were stolen from logging companies in northern part of the country between June 1997 and April 1998. The Congolese government has established surveillance brigades comprising forestry department and public service workers in a bid to stmap out the theft. Timber is Congo’s second largest foreign currency earner after oil. The country has 20-billion hectares of forests, 14-million of which have been allocated to 40 logging companies.