After hot chase, 13 red sanders logs seized at Bayyareddigaripalli in Chittoor district
- Task force personnel spotted a car on the edge of Bhimavaram forest
- On seeing task force staff, car sped away with logs
- After a hot chase, cops find car left in a ditch at Bayyareddigaripalli
Tirupati: In a daring operation, the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) with the support of Kalluru police after a hot chase seized a car along with 13 red sanders logs, in the early hours of Saturday.
Acting on credible information, task force personnel led by RSI Bhaskar on Friday evening took up intense search in Bhimavaram forest area leading to finding a car at a place on the edge of the forest which is a loading point for the smugglers for illegally transporting red sanders brought from the forests near Bhimavaram village on Saturday.
However, the vehicle sped away when the combing task force was reaching the place.
The task force chased the vehicle and alerted the local police stations.
The smugglers were forced to abandon the vehicle on a road side and flee after spotting a police vehicle coming opposite at Bayyareddigaripalli, 30 km away.
Kalluru SI Viswanatha Naidu, who was keeping a watch on Kothapet-Kalluru road after the alert, traced the vehicle in the ditch and informed the task force.
Task Force IG M Kantha Rao also reached the spot and joined with personnel in the inspection of the vehicle from which 13 red sanders logs were recovered.
The IG said following the information on smugglers illegal operation in Bhimavaram forest area, the task force stepped up the vigil and almost keeping a round the clock watch on all entry, exit and load points to cripple the smugglers.
He said that he was more worried about the life and safety of task force personnel and also the villagers in the villages as they are facing increased risk with smugglers often resorting to overspeed more so when chased by police, forest and task force personnel.
Villagers said that they were panicked many times on seeing the smugglers vehicles passing on a dead speed in the interior roads.