Chittoor: International smuggler among 6 held with 4 tonnes of red sanders
The gang were earning money by transporting smuggled red sandalwood from Chennai port to other countries
By Newsmeter Network Published on 26 March 2022 6:27 PM IST
Chittoor: The Chittoor district police arrested six people, including an international red sandalwood smuggler. The main accused, Giri Nayudu of Tamil Nadu, has been smuggling red sanders to Malaysia and Taiwan.
The gang was caught when moving red sandalwood in a lorry and a Tata Sumo. The police seized four tonnes of red sandalwood logs worth Rs. 2 crore. It was a joint operation by the Special Enforcement Bureau and Chittoor district police to curb smuggling activities in the Seshachalam forests.
According to Chittoor district deputy inspector general (DIG) S. Senthil Kumar, on reliable information, the police teams under Satyavedu police limits conducted checks on 22 March midnight at Satyavedu-Oothukota main road. They stopped the lorry and Sumo coming from Satyavedu. "When conducting checks, the police found 145 red sandalwood logs weighing 4,035 kg hidden inside the lorry. We found that the main accused, Giri Nayudu from Tamil Nadu, had formed a gang. They were earning money by transporting smuggled red sandalwood from Chennai port to other countries," said the officer.
The main accused was involved in 40 cases in Andhra Pradesh and other states. He is one of the absconding smugglers in five cases registered by the Chittoor district police. "We are investigating if there are more international smugglers involved with these gangs," said the DIG.
The other accused include N. Srikanth (28) from Nellore, P. Ramakrishnan (34), C. Ponnuswamy (60), B. Chinnaswamy (58), and M. Vellayan (57). All from Thiruvannamalai district.
