Three held in Gujarat in red sanders smuggling case on tip off from AP cops

Patan, Dec 13 (PTI) Three persons were arrested in Gujarat’s Patan district with four tonnes of red sanders worth Rs 2.5 crore on Friday, a police official said.

Pareshji Thakor of Patan, Hansraj Joshi of Mehsana and Uttam Soni of Deesa town in Banaskantha district were held on a tip off from Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force of Andhra Pradesh, Patan Deputy Superintendent of Police KK Pandya said.

“They had acquired 155 red sanders logs worth Rs 2.5 crore from AP-based smugglers. These were recovered in a raid on a godown in Hajipur village here. The red sanders was supposed to be smuggled further to China and some South-East Asian nations where it is used in medicines and fetches a high price. Recently, an FIR was registered at Tirupati police station in AP about red sandalwood theft,” he said.

“Those held in AP told police about the logs being taken to Patan. Based on the information shared by the Task Force in AP, we raided the godown today,” he added.

A release from Patan police said the three accused acquired the red sandalwood logs from one Charamthe Venkat Raju of Mandapalli village of AP nearly three months ago had brought them to Patan in a truck by concealing them under vegetables.

The release sad the logs were from the Sundupalli-Sanipaya forest range in the southern state.

The AP Task Force Superintendent of Police MD Sharif arrived here to take custody of the trio.

They will be taken to AP after their production in a local court here, Sharif told reporters.