Smuggled red sanders worth 2.4 crore headed for Taiwan seized in Bengaluru

Customs officials in Bengaluru seized 4.8 tonnes of red sander logs worth Rs. 2.4 crores. The logs were seized from the Inland Cargo Depot in Whitefield and were being smuggled to Taiwan.

In one of the largest red sander seizures recently, customs sleuths in Bengaluru seized 4.8 tonnes of logs worth Rs 2.4 crore that were being smuggled to Taiwan. Officials intercepted the logs at the Inland Cargo Depot (ICD) in Whitefield.

As per a report by the Times of India, the bust took place on Saturday. ICD sleuths found the logs inside a container which was falsely declared as furniture meant for export. The smugglers had placed a few pieces on the top to mislead officials.

ICD officials were examining a container from Tamil Nadu and found furniture items like sofa sets and dining tables on the top, sealed inside plywood boxes. However, the officials remained suspicious and climbed into one of the boxes. They discovered three large logs of red sanders.

Upon discovering this, officials opened up all 70 plywood boxes and found a total of 195 red sander logs inside 65 of them. Customs officials are investigating the person who booked the containers.

The ICD team also alerted the forest department about the seizure and they are expected to probe further.

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