Seven alleged red sanders smugglers were today arrested in Kadapa district and 190 logs of the precious wood worth Rs eight crore were seized, police said.
Seven smugglers-- J Siva Sankar, a native of Ontimitta mandal, who shifted to Bengaluru, Syed Asif Ali, Syed Areef of Shankanpur village in Bengaluru rural, B Surendra Naik from Karnataka, Sudhakar Reddy of Tadipatri, Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, D Ravi Sankar and D Srinivas of Vallur were arrested early today, Kadapa District Superintendent of Police Naveen Gulati said.
"Based on a tip-off, our red sanders anti-smuggling special squad carried out the operation and the seven accused were arrested in the early hours today at Polatala Cross near Tippireddypalli village in Pendlimarri mandal of Kadapa district," he said.
190 logs of red sanders wood weighing 4,185 kg worth Rs eight crore in the international market, four cars and a truck and seven cell phones were seized in the operation, Gulati added.
According to the police official, the arrested accused J Siva Sankar is a close associate of alleged and most-wanted international red sander smuggler Kollam Gangi Reddy.
The SP said that the gang members tried to attack the police personnel when the latter nabbed them.
