The red sanders trail has, yet again, led the Tirupati Urban cops to Chennai. The policemen nabbed a notorious smuggler V. Nedunchezhiyan of Tiruvottriyur in Chennai on Friday and based upon the information provided by him, recovered a huge cache of red sanders weighing nine tonnes. The logs were found hidden in two godowns belonging to international smuggler Khaja Mohideen alias ‘Khajabhai’ in Mathur Telecom Nagar, abutting Madhavaram-Manali high road, on the outskirts of Chennai.
Artefacts
It may be recalled that the police rounded up Tiruthani-based Mohan Naidu and nine others in Venkatapalem forest area of Yerpedu mandal in the Chittoor district on December 18, while Subramanyam of Puttur eluded arrest. When he was subsequently nabbed on December 23, he spilled the beans on the whereabouts of Nedunchezhiyan, who was arrested in Chennai.
The policemen were taken aback to see the redwood not just as logs, but also in various forms such as powder, chips, beads and art pieces. This gives a new angle to the history of seizure of logs, revealing the direct or indirect involvement of craftsmen, who have converted the red sanders logs into eye-catching artefacts. The cops also recovered two weighing machines from the deserted godowns. The Tamil Nadu revenue officials later took possession of the godowns.
Superintendent of Police (Tirupati Urban) R. Jayalakshmi, who inspected the recovered logs, called the seizure a breakthrough. “This is for the first time that the wood is smuggled in the form of finished products.” This case, she believes, could shed new light on the involvement of more number of criminals behind such smuggling rackets.
