Deputy Conservator of Forest, Shahapur Division of Thane circle, R M Ramanujam told PTI that it was late last evening when officials received a tip-off that a large stock of red sandalwood was stored at a place on the Nashik Highway.
A team of forest officials which visited the scene, found the stock stored in an abandoned water tank and in a nearby godown. They shifted this to the forest godown at Vihigaon.
"One tonne of red sandalwood costs about Rs 10 lakh in the international market. It is used for medicinal and other purposes. We suspect, that huge profits are being made out of the illegal red sandalwood trade," a forest official said.
A manhunt is on to trace those responsible for storing the contraband. According to unconfirmed reports, the godown belonged to a defence ordnance factory official's son, who is absconding. His father claimed to be unaware of the son's business.
On January 26, a Chakan police team from Pune had raided two godowns at Waki Budruk village and seized red sandalwood and teak wood worth Rs 3 crore.
It is suspected that smugglers have been transporting red sandalwood to Mumbai port from where it is smuggled out to foreign countries.
Red sanders or red sandalwood (Pterocarpus Santalinus) is a rare and precious wood found only in India. It grows naturally in the Seshachalam hill ranges in Kadapa, Chittoor and Nellore districts on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border. It is an endangered species, protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora list, whose export and import was banned in 1994.