A woodcutter, suspected to be part of a red sanders smuggling network, was arrested by the Red Sanders Anti Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) in Seshachalam forest in the early hours of Wednesday.
As part of the regular combing operation, the two teams led by Reserve Sub Inspector Vasu and Deputy Range Officer P.V.N. Rao respectively were searching for poachers in Kalyani dam area, when one of the teams spotted a group of 12 persons near Ragimakulakunta. However, all but one of them absconded on sighting the police personnel from a distance, making the lone woodcutter an easy target. He was identified as Velaiyan, hailing from Kalvarayan hills in Tamil Nadu. Going by his dirty clothes and bad odour emanating from his body, the police observed that he should have been thoroughly exhausted and fatigued after roaming around the forest for nearly nine days. With most of the ponds located inside the forest drying up, Velaiyan moved for nearly 30 kilometres in search of drinking water.
The task force personnel also seized nine red sanders logs from the spot and launched a manhunt for the others who are at large.
