"Acting on a tip off, we conducted raids and arrested five timber smugglers from the Halyan-Runta village in Bhaderwah belt of the district around 3 am today," Superintendent of Police Roop Raj said.
The smugglers have been identified as Omar Din, Zakir Hussain, Adil Hussain, Kapoor Chand and Tariq Hussain, he said.
Around 45 timber scants and 25 felled green cedar trees worth several lakhs were seized from a village in the Bhaderwah belt during a raid on Tuesday.
A case under section 6 of the Forest Act 379 RPC has been registered here, the SP added.
The crackdown was launched by police after a complaint was made by a local photo journalist, who clicked pictures of the loot of green gold in Runta-Halyan in Puneja block of Bhadarwah Forest Division and was attacked by the smugglers.
He was thrashed and his camera was broken.