Red sanders logs worth Rs 50 lakh seized, six held

TIRUPATI: The sleuths of AP Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force arrested six persons and seized 32 red sanders logs, worth Rs 50 lakh, in two separate operations in Annamayya district on Thursday.

According to the DSP Chenchu babu, on Wednesday night, two teams led by RSIs P. Naresh and R. Lingadhar, and Vishnuvardhan Kumar and Viswanath, began combing operations in two different regions.

In the first operation, the team, led by RSIs Naresh and Lingadhar, spotted a group of smugglers loading red sanders logs in a vehicle in Seshachalam extension reserve forest under Rayavaram section.

They surrounded them and arrested three smugglers at the spot. The team also seized 10 red sanders logs, a four-wheeler and a two-wheeler, and other materials from their possession.

The arrested were identified as T. Vengadesan, 26, Hari, 46 of Tamil Nadu, and K.C. Vijay Kumar of Chittoor district.  

In the second operation, RSIs Vishnuvardhan Kumar and Viswanath and their team, which started combing operations from the Sanipaya base camp, arrested three smugglers at Nana Rachapalli Forest beat.

The arrested were identified as P. Sarath, 19, C. Pachaiyappan, 20 and N. Mani, 50, all belonging to Tamil Nadu. The team seized 22 logs from the accused. The total value of the logs seized by the task force teams was estimated to be worth approximately '50 lakh, DSP Chenchu Babu said.