International red sander smuggling gang busted

19 arrested; 165 red sander logs weighing 3.3 tonnes confiscated.

The Anantapur District Police on Tuesday busted an international red sanders smuggling gang and confiscated more than 3 tonnes of logs meant for China.

Superintendent of Police Fakkeerappa Kaginelli while presenting the 19 accused of smuggling the red sanders by collecting them from Kadapa and Chittoor districts said that the gang used to source the wood logs from the Rayalaseema districts and store them in godowns in Tamil Nadu. From Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu, the smugglers used to ferry them to China via Sri Lanka.

The gang believed to be run by the two accused Shul Bhai and Bilal by staying in different countries and earning fat amount by smuggling red sanders from the country was transporting the 165 logs weighing 3.305 tonnes in five vehicles from Badvel in Kadapa district to Bengaluru via Kodikonda and Chilamattur.