Chennai: In a major operation, investigators from directorate revenue intelligence on Sunday seized 36 tons of red sander logs worth Rs 16.20 crore along with more than 100 high value antiques and handicraft items.
This is the first time a DRI team is seizing suspected antique item in recent history. The investigators have sought the assistance of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to determine the antique value of the seized articles, including stone idols of lords
Mahavishnu, Dakshinamurthy and Linghothbavar, ivory statues of Ganesha, Krishna and goddess Lakshmi along with walking sticks made of ivory and as well as snake bones. Wooden handicraft items include idols of Vishnu, Bhairava, Kali and Buddha.
“It appears all the antiques were stolen, either from temples or from private collectors,” a DRI officer revealed. A part of the red sanders seized and all the antique articles were seized from a godown in Ayanambakkam on Vanagaram–Ambattur road while the rest of the red sanders logs were seized from a container at the port.
DRI officials noted that the seized red sanders and artefacts were marked to be shipped to Dubai from where it would finally reach China, which is a huge market for endangered species of wood.
Though the DRI had made huge seizures during its week-long operation, they could not arrest any gang members who were involved in the smuggling of red sanders and antique items.
The godown is spread over half an acre of land few metres away from a well known corporate hospital.
This is the place where the gang was preparing its ground for substitution of red sanders with the declared items — GI sewage cover with frames. The godown was well away from view with a large main gate at the entrance with huge storage including dark rooms.
The DRI team found during their search that a huge stock of red sanders logs loaded in an export container on a trailer along with welding machines, wood cutter circular blades, fake bottle seals, drillers, polishing machines and other equipment to prepare the container for substitution with contraband.
