Brazil environment minister probed over alleged illegal timber exports 2 minutes read Brasilia, May 19 (EFE).- Brazil’s Federal Police launched an operation Wednesday to determine whether Environment Minister Ricardo Salles and other authorities facilitated illegal timber exports to Europe and the United States. “The (alleged) participation of public officials and business leaders in the timber sector is being investigated over timber export process irregularities,” the Federal Police said of its Operation Akuanduba in this capital, the southeastern state of Sao Paulo and the northwestern states of Para and Amazonas. A total of 160 federal agents are carrying out 35 court-ordered search warrants as part of the operation, named after the deity of the Araras indigenous group.