6 smugglers held; red sanders logs worth `1 crore seized

Tirupati: In a major haul, the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) seized 48 red sanders logs from two different places - Rajampet mandal in Annamayya district and Yerpedu mandal in Tirupati district. Six smugglers involved in the smuggling of red sanders were arrested while three motorcycles were also seized from them. Speaking to the media here on Friday, Task Force SP Meda Sundara Rao said the Task force team led by RIs Krupanandam and Suresh Kumar Reddy under the direction of DSP Murlidhar took up combing in the forest areas leading to the seizure of the big quantity of red sanders logs and arrest of six smugglers.

The team which was combing in the forests near Rajampeta spotted a group of smugglers carrying red sanders logs on their heads at Giuttaralla Thova in Tummalabailu forest section and urged the smugglers to surrender. But the smugglers fled into the forests after throwing away the red sanders logs which were later recovered by the Task Force team. In all, 25 logs were found in the area. Search is on to track down the escaped smugglers, the SP said. The second team which launched a search in Papanaidu forest section in Yerpedu mandal found six smugglers moving suspiciously in the forest area near RV Kandriga and arrested them. Following interrogation of the smugglers, the police recovered 23 logs hidden in the forests. The arrested include P Maraiah (25) of Ravillavaripalli, K Sivakumar (26) of Vadamalapeta, T Shanmugam (32), Munagalapalem, D Venkatesh (30) of RV Kandriga, all in Tirupati district, and Akula Prabhakar (40), Tadipatri, Anantapur district and V Venkatesh (24) of Pulivendula, Kadapa district. Task Force SP said the 48 logs which weigh 1,050 kg are worth about Rs one crore. A case has been registered at the Task Force Police Station, Tirupati, and investigation is on.