The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 11,000 kg of red sanders worth Rs 4.4 crore and arrested two persons in connection with it from Bihar's Araria district today.
Official sources said, a DRI team acting on a tip off intercepted a vehicle and seized the consignment of red sanders which was being taken to Kolkata to be sent to South Korea and China.
The arrested driver and cleaner of the vehicles told the DRI sleuths that the sandalwood was brought from Andhra Pradesh via Delhi to Bihar and loaded in a container from Nepal by breaking its seal before being transported to Kolkata, the sources said.
On information elicited from the driver and the cleaner about another consignment of red sanders sent to Kolkata port a few days ago, the DRI tipped off its counterpart in West Bengal leading to seizure of 8,000 kg worth Rs 3.20 crore from the port this afternoon, the sources added.
A prohibited item for export, red sanders is a banned item in the list of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The wood has historically been valued in China and a high price is paid for it in that country.
