101 East follows the trail of illegal poachers who risk it all for the exotic hardwood, driving a species to extinction.
Thailand's Siamese rosewood forests could be extinct within a decade because of illegal logging. In just five years, poaching of the rare hardwood has increased 850 percent, driven by an insatiable demand for luxury furniture in China.
But the price is not just financial or environmental. Huge criminal organisations are trafficking rosewood at higher prices than narcotics, leaving the bodies of smugglers and law enforcement officers in their path.
Thai forest ranger 'Jog' Sornpui risks his life every time he enters the jungle on patrol. Dressed in camouflage fatigues and carrying an automatic rifle, he looks more like a soldier ready for combat.
And in a sense he is. His enemy, the rosewood poachers, are armed with AK47's and bombs. Forty of Jog's fellow rangers have been killed in the line of duty in the past few years.
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