Police nab 3 sandalwood smugglers, 55 woodcutters after 'Pushpa' like chase in Nellore | Video
India Today
The police seized 45 red sandalwood logs, 24 axes, 31 cellphones, a Toyota car and Rs 75,230 in cash from the gang.
In a major breakthrough, Andhra Pradesh police apprehended a gang involved in red sander smuggling in Nellore district. 55 woodcutters and three smugglers were arrested in the raid which was conducted on Chennai National Highway. The gang was nabbed from Rapur forest.
When police tried to nab the woodcutters and smugglers, they attacked the team with stones and axes and tried to flee in their vehicles.
The three arrested persons are identified as V Damu, Kuppanna Subramanian and Radhakrishnan.
ALSO READ: Tamil Nadu police seize 20 tonnes of smuggled red sanders worth Rs 10 crore
According to Nellore SP Ch Vijaya Rao, “The main smuggler, V Damu hails from Chittoor district and got acquainted with Kuppanna Subramanian from Puducherry. Damu and Subramanian visited Puducherry and contacted P Velumalai. Velumalai involved his brother-in-law Radhakrishnan in Damu’s smuggling activity”.
“They reached Gudur town of Nellore district on January 20 with the woodcutters' crew and cut down the red sandalwood trees in the Rapur forest and returned to Tamil Nadu on January 21 with a truck filled with logs,’’ said the SP.
ALSO READ: Thirty bank accounts of red sandalwood smuggler, associates found; sent to ED custody
