Inter-State red sanders smuggler held in Tamil Nadu

The personnel of Kadapa Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Cell have arrested a most-wanted inter-State smuggler Sathyanarayanan, 33, from his native place of Arani in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu and seized 30 precious logs weighing around 1,035 kg worth ₹50 lakh. Apart from the red sanders logs, ₹11,020 in cash, mobile phone and ATM card were also seized from the accused, said Kadapa Superintendent of Police Babujee Attada.

International nexus

“Sathyanarayanan, accused in 25 cases reported from Kadapa district alone, is the main associate of international smuggler Sunil alias Arcot Bhai from Tamil Nadu. He also has a nexus with international smugglers Ali Bhai and Saaji from Dubai and several smugglers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh,” the SP told the media here on Thursday. A brick-maker-turned-red sander smuggler, Sathyanarayanan has admitted to have smuggled more than 500 tonnes of red sander logs in the last four years, he added.

Sathyanarayanan’s activity came to light during interrogation of smugglers who were recently arrested from Railway Kodur, Chitvel and Obulavaripalli areas in Kadapa district, Mr. Babujee said. Additonal SP (Operations) Adnan Nayeem Asmi and Kadapa Faction Zone DSP B. Srinivasulu were present.

The SP complimented CI S. Padmanabhan, SIs B. Hema Kumar, R.V. Konda Reddy and constables Siva Rama Naidu, Venkata Ramana, Kondaiah, Gopi Naik, Prasad Babu, Kiran Kumar, Subramanyam and Rakesh for arresting the accused.

Four fugitive

smugglers nabbed

Meanwhile, four red sander smugglers who had been absconding since the last four years, were arrested near a dhaba at Reddipalle in Pullampet mandal and remanded to judicial custody, said Rajampet Rural CI Narasimhulu. The arrested smugglers—Kondedi Subbarayudu, Venkataiah, Chengaiah and Chalapathi— were accused in a case booked at Pullampet police station in 2014 of felling red sander trees in the forest areas , he added.