The police of Rachakonda busted a red sanders smuggling racket and took two people into custody on Friday. 1.5 tonnes of Red Sanders worth over Rs 60.18 lakh were recovered from them.
They were Shaik Mohammed Rafi and M. Basheer Amhed, who are from Andhra Pradesh. The trio, along with Murthy, who is absconding, were believed to be smuggling red sanders to clients across India, sources said.
According to police, the suspects who transport bananas across the country decided to smuggle red sanders for easy money.
According to police, Rafi supplies Banana to various states, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana. Ahmed acquired bananas from Rafi and supplied them to retailers.
As a result of their loss in the banana business, they devised a plan to obtain and sell red sander wood in Telangana to clear their debts and became acquainted with one Murthy belonging to Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh.
In exchange for Rs. 1 lakh, Murthy provided the 31 red sanders weighing about 1500 kgs. The red sanders were brought to Hyderabad and stored near Government Land in Moula-Ali Dargah, Malkajgiri.
Sleuths from the Special Operations Team from LB Nagar Zone along with Malkajgiri police raided the hideout and seized the red Sanders. Police said they were conducting further investigations.
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The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Special Task Force (RSASTF) seized wood worth Rs 508 crore last year.
According to RSASTF superintendent of police Meda Sundar Rao, 117 cases of red sander smuggling were booked and 342 suspects were arrested in the joint operation conducted by the RSASTF, police and forest departments.
“A charge sheet was promptly filed against the accused in the red sanders cases. All red sanders cases are non-bailable, and 145 of them are pending in various sessions courts,” Sundar Rao said.
166 of those arrested originate from Andhra Pradesh, while 150 hail from Tamil Nadu.
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