Huge haul of red sanders seized; one held near Tirupati

In a huge haul, five tons of Red Sanders has been seized in the Mamanduru forest in Seshachalam hills some 25 km from here, forest officials said today.
Divisional Forest Officer Subba Reddy told reporters that a team of 25 forest personnel spotted two smugglers with water cans near a forest pond last night.
He said they managed to nab one Ramesh, who hails from Tamil Nadu, while the other managed to escape, he said.
Following information provided by Ramesh during questioning, the team found 100 logs of red sanders, weighing five tons, in the forest, he said.
However, he declined to comment on the worth of the seized logs which have been kept at the local forest office area.

Chief Conservator of Forests, Chalapati Rao, after inspecting the logs, said smuggling of rich red timber has come down drastically following the crackdown on such activities by forest and police personnel in dense forests in Seshachalam hills.