Personnel of the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF), in the early hours of Thursday, seized two tonnes of red sanders logs worth Rs. 4 crore in the international market and a specially-fabricated tipper in Kongaravaripalle of Chandragiri mandal, close to Seshachalam foothills.
Acting on a tip-off that woodcutters, after felling trees at Pincha and Rollamadugu areas on the Chittoor-Kadapa border, were loading the logs into the tipper on the Bengaluru National Highway close to Chandragiri, the combing party rushed to the spot.
“A mob of woodcutters and smugglers, numbering 30, fled the scene under the cover of darkness,” task force DIG M. Kantha Rao said.
Presenting cash rewards to the personnel who led the operation, the DIG said that the tipper was brought to the road point at Kongaravaripalle all the way from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu.
“The vehicle was specially designed for the smuggling activity. The smugglers also fixed a ladder for easy loading and unloading of the logs. The tipper first entered the district at Palamaneru through Karnataka, avoiding the regular Vellore route. In order to hoodwink the police and forest personnel on patrol, the smugglers are now taking circuitous routes crisscrossing Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh,” the official said.
Task force personnel also seize specially-fabricated tipper
