The Chittoor rural police on Wednesday arrested 11 people on charges of smuggling red sanders and seized the precious logs worth ₹2 crore and five vehicles including three cars and two auto-rickshaws, and axes from their possession.
“Acting on a tip-off, the special parties of the Chittoor rural west police circle raided three different locations and made the arrests,” Deputy SP (Chittoor) K. Eeshwar Reddy told the media here.
Of the eleven accused, the DSP said, eight were from Tamil Nadu and the rest from Kuppam division.
“During interrogation, the accused confessed that they were on their way to Chennai from Tirupati, after procuring the freshly felled red sanders logs from the Seshachalam hills. Special teams have been formed to nab the other accused who fled during the raids.
The police have registered cases at the rural and Tavanampalle police stations. The accused have been remanded.
