Six tonnes of sandalwood seized, smuggling racket busted in Puducherry
The Hindu
Six tonnes of sandalwood seized, smuggling racket busted in Puducherry
In what is said to be one of the largest seizures in the Union Territory, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department confiscated around 6 tonnes of sandalwood pieces and powder from a scented oil manufacturing unit at Ulaivaikkal near Villianur.
The consignment, the value of which is yet to be fixed, was seized by a 10-member team of forest officials from the Salem Forest Division following the end of a two-day search on Friday.
According to Forest Department sources, the involvement of a well-oiled network of sandalwood smuggling with inter-state ramifications came to light following the arrest of a six-member team from Kerala for smuggling sandalwood in Salem district on June 5.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Forest Department officials intercepted a mini-van at Magudanchavadi on the Erode-Salem National Highway, and found 1.5 tonnes of sandalwood pieces in 86 gunny bags. The officials arrested two individuals, S. Mohammed Sugal , 34, and H. Mohammed Pasil Rahman, 26, both from Malappuram in Kerala.
Further investigations led to four more people involved in the smuggling being arrested. They were identified as M. Mohammed Misal, 27, A. Mohammed Abbar, 26, A. Bajash, 35, and A. Umar, 43, all from Malappuram.
Investigations revealed that the gang smuggled the sandalwood from a forest in Kerala and delivered it to another gang in Salem, from where the sandalwood was meant to be transported to Puducherry.
Based on the information, the Salem Division of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department raided a scented oil manufacturing unit at Ulaivaikkal. The searches began on Thursday and continued till Friday evening.
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