Marayur forest officials seized 90 kg of sandalwood and arrested three persons on Sunday morning. The arrested were Kasaragod residents Ibrahim Mazood, 29, Bathil Ashik M., 28 and Muhammed Ali, 38.
Marayur Range officer Job M. Neryamparambil said that the arrest was made around 2 a.m. after they got a tip-off that sandalwood was being smuggled through the Chinnar forest check- post. The accused travelling in a car with the contraband item tried to smash through the check post, but they were immediately blocked, he said adding that the 75 kg of sandalwood was found concealed in a bag inside the car.
The officials also raided the house of the main accused Ibrahim Mazood and seized 15 kg of sandalwood from his residence at Vidya Nagar.
The accused said that he had got 15 kg of sandalwood from Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. It is suspected that the 75 kg of sandalwood was stolen from Marayur.
