Around 11 tonnes of redsanders worth Rs 90 lakhs which was allegedly being smuggled into Mumbai from Tamil Nadu was seized by forest officials here.
Thane Forest department officials acting on a tip off seized the redsanders stock yesterday from a truck near APMC market at Vashi and arrested five persons, Assistant Commissioner of Forests Thane, YP Mohite told PTI.
The seized stock was valued around Rs 90 lakhs, he said.
The sanders were concealed in gunny bags filled with coconuts.
Mohite said offences under sections of the Indian Forest Act have been registered against the arrested accused Surajkumar Pal, 27, Rakesh Tiwari, 37, Chandan Shettiar, 40, Rohit Kamble, 27 and Prashant Singh, 21.
The international market price of the seized sanders is Rs 25 lakhs per ton, he said.
