Three illegal lumberjacks have been arrested in Gansu province in connection with an attack on police officers.
The China Youth Daily reported yesterday that about 100 police officers swooped on Minjiang Tree Farm in Longnan district last week in a bid to catch 50 illegal lumberjacks and truckers who were helping them.
The ambush backfired when the lumberjacks enlisted the help of several hundred local villagers after claiming a young woman had been shot by the officers.
Several officers were injured in the clash, while others went missing.
Party secretary of the area Zhang Wangdeo was missing for several days, but was found recovering from injuries in a neighbour's home.
It was the seventh time illegal lumberjacks had clashed with law enforcement officers in the past year.