The premier of Solomon Islands' Temotu Province says he has sent police officers and government officials to Vanikoro to stop a Malaysian logging company from setting up its operation.
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Last week, Father Charles Brown Beu revealed that while he was in Honiara the company had attempted to buy his approval to begin logging.
He says when he declined, one of the directors gave him an assurance the company would not do any logging in Temotu and would instead go to Makira.
But Father Beu says the loggers then took their ship to Temotu's capital, Lata, where police instructed them to return to Honiara.
"And they said 'Yes, we are leaving for Honiara' - that evening. The next morning all we heard was they were over there in Vanikoro."
Father Charles Brown Beu says the company cannot start felling trees until it has a licence but in any case, the type of logging it does is not permitted in the province.
