Bengaluru: Sandalwood racket busted, two arrested
The police had earlier made some unsuccessful attempts to arrest the duo, but they proved elusive.
Bengaluru: In a late night raid, conducted by more than 100 pollice personnel, the city police have arrested two people for their alleged involvement in procuring stolen sandalwood sticks and logs, and selling them to soap and oil manufacturing companies.
The accused have been identified as Syed Riyaz (49) and his son Syed Sher Ali (28), residents of Kattigenahalli in Hosakote taluk. They are said to be involved in the illegal business since 2008 and the police have recovered Rs 35 lakh in cash, 350 gm gold jewellery and nine kilograms of sandalwood sticks and several duplicate vehicle number plates from their house.
According to police, the father-son allegedly gave contract to Tamil Nadu's Ilayaraja gang to steal sandalwood from the premises of government guest houses and other institutions in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. They also provided vehicles for the thieves to execute the job.
After carrying out the theft, the gang would hand over the sandalwood to the middlemen from whom the father-son would buy and later sell it to the factories.
The police had earlier made some unsuccessful attempts to arrest the duo, but they proved elusive. On Friday night at around 1 am, over 100 policemen including three KSRP platoons and reserve police raided the house and arrested the accused.
The police have also recovered a diary in which the accused the maintained all the details of their dealings. The police are further investigating the case.