AP task force, DRI to fight red sanders smuggling

Chennai: Senior IPS officer Dr Kantha Rao heading the Andhra Pradesh task force combating red sanders smuggling held discussions on Tuesday with senior officials of the Revenue Intelligence directorate here for evolving effective strategy to combat the cross-border crime that caused huge depletion of the high-priced timber in the reserved forests in Chittoor and neighbouhood.

Dr Rao met with DRI additional director general Peri Umashankar and additional director Ramakrishnan, before visiting the customs warehouses where the huge stock of recently seized red sanders logs are kept. Over 40 tonnes of the wood was seized following a tip-off from a godown at Oragadam in Kancheepuram district.

Some arrests were made but the kingpins continue to evade the police net. Forest range officer Lakshmipathi also accompanied the senior officers for the inspection at the customs warehouse.

While the AP task force and the DRI have been having close coordination for sharing of intelligence and carrying out operations against the smugglers, mostly hired woodcutters from the border districts of Tamil Nadu, there is bitterness among the two agencies that the Tamil Nadu police are not so helpful.

IG Kantha Rao had told a press conference at Tirupati a few days that it would be difficult for his men in the task force to hold back fire as the smugglers carried country guns made in secret lathes in Tamil Nadu. Though they were only paid coolies and poor woodcutters, the task force can only treat them as armed smugglers and respond appropriately, he had warned.