In a major breakthrough, Red Sanders Anti Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) personnel recovered 193 red sanders logs, seized four vehicles and nabbed nine smuggling operatives, in three separate incidents in Chittoor and Kadapa districts on Saturday. The logs, weighing more than five tonnes, are estimated to fetch more than ₹ 15 crore in the international market, making it a significant catch in recent times.
The task force officials, who have been receiving tip-offs on smuggling activities in the Seshachalam forests, formed five special teams to conduct combing operations at vulnerable entry and exit points.
“In the first incident, we managed to seize a major dump of red sanders consisting of 153 logs and nabbed one of the most notorious smugglers, M. Chandrasekhar alias Madarapakam Sekhar, hailing from Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu,” said task force DSP S.V. Sreedhar Rao.
Mr. Rao said about 10 to 15 smuggling operatives, led by Chandrasekhar, had planned to transport logs by a truck and two SUVs from the forest areas, a few kilometres away from the Karakambadi sub-station.
After being confronted by the combing party, the latter fled into the forests but the officials had managed to nab Chandrasekhar.
Boxer-turned-smuggler
“Chandrasekhar, who was an amateur boxer, began red sanders smuggling under the guidance of L.V. Mani. Earlier, he was involved in various gambling activities, including pigeon races, real estate etc., and had descended into criminal activities to maintain his lavish lifestyle. This duo of smugglers along with others — Guna and Manohar — all hailing from Tamil Nadu, are considered a team,” said Mr. Rao.
Over the years, Chandrasekhar is said to have transported several tonnes of red sanders and is wanted in several cases.
In the second incident in the forest areas abutting Upadhyaya Nagar on the Karakambadi road, the task force officials intercepted and prevented loading of red sanders logs. They reportedly spotted about 20 smuggling operatives, who upon encountering the combing party, abandoned the logs and fled.
However, the officials nabbed K. Perumal (39), an operative hailing from Tiruppattur in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu and seized 40 red sanders logs and a truck.
Additional forces have been mobilised to nab the others. With the seizure of country-made rifles last week, officials have been advised to conduct combing operations with utmost caution.
Seven held
Meanwhile, quick thinking by two task force police constables resulted in the capture of seven smuggling operatives in Kadapa district on Saturday.
According to sources, Hussain and Narasimhulu, who were en route to their respective homes after duty, noticed 11 suspicious members board the bus near Kamalapuram area.
On questioning, four persons from the group jumped out of the moving bus. However, the constables managed to detain seven others with the help of the passengers and handed them over to the Yeeraguntla police for further investigation.
