Andhra Pradesh Police arrest five Chennai-based thieves in Tirupati, seize red sanders logs worth Rs 4.3 crore

Andhra Pradesh Police arrested a gang of five thieves on Monday in Tirupati district for smuggling more than five tonnes of red sanders logs, which are valued at Rs 4.3 crore, police said.

Police arrested Muruganand (42), Hemanth Kumar (37), Ravi (31), Vimal (32) and Surender (33) around 8 am on Monday on National Highway 16 (NH-16) at Pedda Pannamgadu while checking vehicles near Tada mandal on the border check-post between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu after receiving a tip-off.

All the arrested persons are from Chennai in Tamil Nadu, the police said.

“While checking vehicles, police noticed a vehicle rushing from Tirupati towards Tamil Nadu and intercepted it, leading to the recovery of 275 red sanders logs weighing 5,388 kg,” Tirupati Superintendent of Police P Parameshwar Reddy said in a press release. According to Reddy, the gang of five was collecting red sanders wood from Tirupati and surrounding areas, which they would keep at a warehouse in Tamil Nadu and then further pack them in cardboard boxes to smuggle them onward under the guise of shipping turmeric to West Bengal.

Reddy said the police managed to arrest them by acting on a receiving reliable information about the smuggling.

Besides the red sanders logs, police also seized two cars worth Rs 18 lakh, Rs 3,200 cash and six cell phones, increasing the value of seized property to Rs 4.5 crore.

The superintendent of police said that the district police has set up an extensive information network to avert red sanders smuggling.