Licence-Based Red Sanders Export Racket Busted
He said special teams would continue efforts to track absconding smugglers operating under the cover of licences
Tirupati: The arrest of a red sanders smuggler in Tirupati has exposed an organised network that allegedly exported illegally felled wood from the Seshachalam forests by projecting it as legal through licences and official documentation.
The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) arrested Mohammed Muzammil (38) of Mysuru, Karnataka, who allegedly devised a systematic method to convert illegal forest produce into export consignments, Tirupati district superintendent of police and RSASTF head L. Subba Rayudu said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference, Rayudu said red sanders logs illegally cut and transported by local smugglers were purchased at low prices and falsely shown as procurements from farmers. Official permissions were then obtained to give the stock a legal cover before exporting it.
According to police, Muzammil sourced red sanders through known smugglers from Karnataka, including Syed Abdul Latheef alias Settu or Settu Bhai and Wajeeb. A Bengaluru-based intermediary, Ravi, allegedly handled documentation and permissions, after which the consignments were exported to China, fetching high profits.
An accused in several red sanders cases in the erstwhile Chittoor district, Muzammil had been absconding for several years. Acting on specific intelligence, RSASTF teams arrested him at Tanapalli Cross on the Chittoor–Naidupeta road in Tirupati rural mandal in connection with a case registered at the RSASTF police station (Crime No. 60 of 2025).
The operation was carried out under the supervision of RSASTF SP P. Srinivas, with additional SP J. Kulashekhar overseeing field teams.
Rayudu said further investigation would focus on the role of a Chinese national identified as Jojo and the involvement of Xiamen TIANGONGFANG TRADE CO. LTD and its India-based representative, Michael, in facilitating overseas exports.
He said special teams would continue efforts to track absconding smugglers operating under the cover of licences. Strengthened trial monitoring, he added, had resulted in convictions in 27 of the 31 cases tried since January last year, with a conviction rate of 87 per cent.
