Tirupati: Stepping up the offensive against red sanders smuggling operations, red sanders special task force sleuths in a joint operation along with Srikalahasti police seized 2 tonnes of red sanders logs and arrested 10 persons on the outskirts of Srikalahasti on Monday.
According to Tirupati additional SP S.V. Subba Reddy, joint teams of the task force and Srikalahasti police tracked down three vehicles smuggling away precious red sanders logs near Kammakothuru near Srikalahasti in the early hours on Monday.
The additional SP said that three vehicles carrying two tonnes of red sanders worth around Rs 70 lakh in the open market were seized. The cops also arrested 10 red sanders smugglers including B. Kuppuswamy, D. Janaki Raman, R. Govinda Swamy, G. Swaminathan, K. Govinda Swamy, T. Appa Swamy, Gopal Naidu, G. Sallapuri and Perumal.
Among those arrested, Perumal is said to be a prized catch for the cops. He is wanted in as many as nine red sanders smuggling cases in Chittoor district. All the arrested hail from Tiruvannamalai and Vellore districts in Tamil Nadu.
Mr Subba Reddy said that the ongoing offensive against red sanders smuggling would continue in full throttle and more arrests would be possible in the days ahead.
