4 red sanders smugglers held; 500 kg of logs worth Rs 75L seized

Hyderabad: The commissioner's task force, south zone team, Hyderabad along with the Kanchanbagh police and forest department officials busted an interstate red sanders smuggling gang consisting of four people. About 500 kgs of red sanders logs worth Rs. 75 lakhs were seized from the gang.

A case has been registered against the four persons at the Kanchanbagh police station under various sections of the IPC, TS Forest Act 1967, Amendment Act 2016, Rule (3) of TS Red Sander Wood Transit Rule 1969, PDPP Act 1984, and Biodiversity Act 2002.

The four arrested persons are Shaik Abdullah and Mujahidin from Kadapa, Inayath Khan and Abdul Khader from Nagarkurnool. Another gang member, Ravi Chandra from Kadapa, is absconding.

Operation smuggling red sanders

The main accused, Shaik Abdullah, ran an ice cream business at Proddatur but ran into huge losses. He quit the business and got into real estate. Due to financial crises, he hatched a plan to procure and sell red sanders illegally to make quick money.

Abdullah contacted Ravi Chandra, a former red sanders smuggler, and requested him to arrange for the wood. Later, Abdullah purchased red sanders from Ravi.

Subsequently, Abdullah contacted Mujahiddin and informed him about the wood. He requested him to provide a storage place for a good commission. Mujahiddin accepted his request and shifted the red sanders to an open plot in Kalwakurthy. He also deputed Inayath Khan to take care of the logs and directed him to search for suitable customers. Inayath contacted his friend Abdul Khader and requested him to buy the logs at a suitable rate.

How and where did they get the red sanders?

Ravi Chandra is a former red sanders smuggler. He used to collect the logs from Lankamalla reserved forest in Kadapa and smuggle it to other states.

The police received information that the gang had come to Hyderabad to show a sample of red sanders to a customer near Midhani bus depot in Kanchanbagh. The commissioner's task force, south zone team along with the Kanchanbagh police reached the spot, apprehended the four men, and seized the smuggled wood.