Hyderabad: Interstate red sander smuggling racket busted

Hyderabad: The Rachakonda Commissionerate LB Nagar Special Operations Team sleuths along with the Hayathnagar police busted an interstate red sander smuggling racket and arrested two persons, Ravuri Uma Shankar (34), resident of Sanathnagar and Chirumamilla Ajith Kumar (26), resident of Prakasham district and efforts are on to nab the kingpin of the racket, Kotesh who is absconding.

They seized 137 Kg of red sander logs, a car all worth Rs 7.20 lakh and 2 cell phones from the possession of them. According to sleuths, the main accused Uma Shankar and Ajith Kumar transported the precious wood from Kadapa and Prakasham border Komarolu of Nallamalla forest.

The accused Uma Shanker had studied up to SSC and got married. Later he got addicted to bad vices. To meet his easy life expenses, he had chosen illegal business to make a fast buck.

Accordingly, he had ventured into this business through one Rasool by searching for the buyers on social networking sites and supplied 450 Kg and 230 Kg of red sandal wood to one Narendra Kumawath, a resident of Jaipur and Khursheed who cheated him after collecting the material. Due to financial crisis, he decided to smuggle red sanders by taking inspiration from smuggler Rasool, who was arrested in several cases by Andhra Pradesh Police.

He met Kotesh and collected 137 Kg of red sanders chips 2 ½ feet from Nallamala reserved forest for a price of Rs 400 per kg. Immediately, Uma Shanker collected the wood from him with the help of his associate Ajith Kumar.

Later they were transporting it in their car which was supposed to deliver to one Khurshid at LB Nagar. By registering a case under section different sections of AP Forest Act and Biological Diversity Act-2002 and PDPP Act-1984 the Hayathnagar police arrested them for further action.