A combing party of the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) seized in the early hours of Wednesday a lorry with 10 logs at the Karakambadi forest beat of the S.V. National Park near Tirupati, while a mob of woodcutters had escaped under the cover of darkness.
According to officials, the five-member team sighted the lorry inside the reserve forest around 3.00 am. The suspicious circumstances forced the Task Force personnel to seek additional force. However, the smugglers fled.
The officials found fake number plate with AP registration, while the logo of a cement company was prominently displayed on the front side. (Earlier, a vehicle with Heritage logo was seized.) Beneath the sticker of the fake number, the officials found another fake number with TN registration. Special teams were pressed into action to trace the operatives.
Task Force inspector G. Ashok Kumar said the smugglers often used stickers (logos) of popular companies and even those of the press and the ambulance services. “Most of the vehicles used for red sanders smuggling are involved in theft cases,” he said.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (RSASTF) M. Kantha Rao said in case of vehicle theft, its owner should immediately lodge a complaint with the area police, “as the smugglers procured such vehicles for their clandestine errands.”
He instructed Deputy SP Harinath Babu to initiate a probe.
