The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Friday seized a 12-tonne consignment of red sanders from the Vallarpadom International Container Terminal. The container was seized just as it was about to be loaded onto a ship.
“The Customs Department had sealed the container at the Kalamassery container freight station after certifying that it contained a consignment of plywood. There was a two-hour gap between when the container was sealed and when it was to be loaded onto the ship. Somewhere during this time, it would have been taken to a godown to load the red sanders,” said a DRI official. Officials said the container’s lock had been tampered with to ensure that it could be opened without breaking the seal stamped by Customs. The door had been placed back in position after the red sanders were kept inside.
Officials said the container had been booked under the name of a Mumbai-based company. “It is likely that the company name is fake or that their exporters’ licence may have expired. “We are examining where the red sanders came from and where they were headed,” said the official. The agency is examining other containers and the terminal.
Red sanders are found in the forest regions of Andhra Pradesh. The seized sanders were reportedly of very high quality.
