Red Sanders smuggling racket busted

The police on Sunday arrested three people, including an elderly couple, who are allegedly part of an inter-State red sanders smuggling racket. Over 500 kg of Red Sanders logs were seized while the gang was shifting them from a goods vehicle to their house in HMT Layout, R.T. Nagar around 1 a.m. on Monday.

Residents alerted the police about suspicious activity in the house. Acting on the information, Constable Yellavva Mannanavar reached the spot, saw what was happening and alerted her seniors. “A team arrived soon after. The gang tried to hoodwink the police by claiming that they were shifting houses,” said a senior police officer.

But when the police team checked the house, they saw the logs of Red Sanders. The accused have been identified as Abdul Basheer, 67, his wife Aneesa Fatima, 57 and their associate Suhail Khan, 22.

“Our investigation so far has revealed that the accused are part of a Red Sanders smuggling racket, which is run by the couple’s son, Junaid, who is on the run,” said Inspector Mithun Shilpi.

The gang allegedly sourced the logs from their contacts in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. They sell the logs to other smugglers who then transport the consignments to Chennai in Tamil Nadu from where they are shipped to buyers out of the country.

“We suspect that what we have uncovered is a bigger racket. A special team has been formed to track down the accused who are on the run,” said Dharmendra Kumar Meena, DCP, North division.