Rs. 90-lakh worth red sanders seized in city

A huge quantity of red sanders was recovered from the shed of a retired ITI employee here on Thursday.

As many as 82 pieces of red sanders, worth about Rs. 90 lakh in the international market, were found hidden in boxes when a police team, led by inspector K.S. Nagaraj, raided a house near 3rd Main in ITI Layout.

The house owner Rajaram alias Rajan had rented his shed to alleged red sanders' smugglers Arun Kumar and Jamal, both from Kerala. The duo had planned to sell them to smugglers in China, an officer at Mahadevapur Police Station told

The Hindu . Arun and Jamal are in nexus with a large number of smugglers in different parts of the country, the official said.

Rare variety

“Red sanders is a rare variety and is considered very valuable. The wood is used for medicinal purposes,” another official said. It is found only in Cuddapa and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh and at some places near Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border, he added.

Though the export of this wood is banned, smugglers send them to China and Japan where there is great demand. The city police are planning to send teams to Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to investigate the case.

Verraya Shekhar alias Moreh Sekher of Moreh in Manipur and Krishnaswamy alias Appu from Chennai are believed to be in control of the red sanders smuggling racket, the official said.

Mahadevapur police are questioning Rajaram (81), to nab Arun and Jamal.