3 inter-state red sanders smugglers arrested

Tirupati: Police arrested three inter-state smugglers and seized 13 red sanders logs, a SUV and a motorcycle in total worth about Rs 21.94 lakh.

Speaking to media here on Sunday, SP Parameswar Reddy said that a team of police, acting on credible information on red sanders smuggling, took up checking of vehicles at Yalamanda-Usthikayala Penta Cross on Saturday. The police grew suspicious when a SUV and motorcycle rider tried to dodge the police from checking their vehicles and ordered them to stop. When the accused tried to escape, police caught three persons. During enquiry, it came to light that the three were inter-state smugglers and smuggling 13 red sanders in the vehicles.

In all, 13 logs and the two vehicles were seized. Bakarapeta CI Tulasiram, SI Prakash Kumar, Yerravaripalem SI Venkateswarlu and their men were involved in the operation against red sanders smuggling, SP said adding that two police in the police team sustained injuries while trying to stop the vehicles. The arrested three smugglers were from Tiruvannamalai and Vellore districts in Tamil Nadu and many times ventured into the deep forests for cutting red sanders trees for smuggling them.

The SP said district police will contact Tamil Nadu police to get the required details about the three smugglers to invoke PD Act against them to prevent their release on bail.

The trio were the members of Satyaraj Rajendram gang, who were managed to flee from the police and the one who bring coolies from Tamil Nadu for cutting the trees in the forests, the SP said and informed the police were on the lookout for Rajendran, who is still at large. The three arrested smugglers were identified as K Ravikumar, 22 of Ramachandrapuram, Arani taluk in Thuruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu, K Sudhakar alias Sudha, 24,Thanjamparai village, Ramachandrapuram in Thiruvannamalai district and A Manivel, 24, Chinnapanaparai village, Thongamalai, Anaikattu in Vellore district.