Personnel of the Tirupati Urban Police District raided a godown at Nagadanahalli near Bengaluru and seized 31 red sanders logs and a mini-van on Thursday.
The seizure became possible following the confession of an arrested regular offender P. Rajasekhar alias Raja, from Hoskote near Bengaluru.
Based on an alert sounded by the joint team headed by Deputy Superintendents of Police (Renigunta) K.S. Nanjundappa and Ravi Kumar (Redsanders Anti Smuggling Task Force), the Ramachandrapuram police kept a watch on the Tirupati-Pachikapalam Road on Wednesday evening. SI M. Suresh Kumar observed a mini luggage van and a car, piloted by a motorcycle, go past the police team without stopping. Braving the attack with weapons, the policemen successfully arrested A. Siva, one of the two persons travelling by the car. The other person, P. Rajasekhar fled the spot. Siva’s confession not only led to the arrest of Rajasekhar at Hoskote and seizure of the logs on Thursday but also helped book a number of persons as co-accused in the case. They included Aleem and Mani of Chittoor, Ghayaz, B.T.M. Nazeer, Masood Khan, Javed Bedhi, Ganesh, and Langdanazim of Bengaluru, Nayaz and Chamcha Nazeer of Katigenahalli, Ramesh and Syed of Chennai, John and Deepak of New Delhi, and Kondaiah and Seenu Naidu of Nellore.
SP Abhishek Mohanty constituted special teams nab the suspects.