In an effort to combat sander smuggling, the police arrested eight red sanders smugglers, including two from Karnataka, in the reserve forest near Jandlavaram crossroads in Mydukur Mandal in Kadapa district. They seized 10 red sander logs weighing 178 kg and five motorcycles.
The arrested have been identified as Shaik Azaz Shareef, 38, brother of notorious criminal Fayaz; and Shaik Imthiyaz, 36, both of Ketiganihalli in Bengaluru rural district; Shaik Khader Basha, 26, Shaik Khader Valli, 46, Janigiri Sreenivasulu, 28, Yanamala Sreenivasulu, 24, Vennapusa Malla Reddy, 40, and Paletigari Suresh Babu, 32.
A special party of the Tirupati wildlife division seized a container with 1.5 tonnes of red sanders logs worth Rs 3 crore at Vagetikona forest in the foothills of Seshachalam hills.
Deputy Conservator of Forests, T.V. Subba Reddy said that a large group of woodcutters and smugglers had escaped under cover of darkness.
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By M. Divya Shri
