Forestry Department staff arrested six members of a dangerous illegal logging gang in an ambush early Saturday morning.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Royal Directorate for Environmental Protection.

The Ministry of Agriculture has heralded its crackdowns on illegal logging, which aims to preserve the Kingdom’s natural resources.

Forestry violations have decreased to 65 percent of the previous year's number, Minister of Agriculture Khaled al-Hunaifat announced earlier this month.