TIRUPATI: The Red-sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force along with the forest department officials seized 280 logs of the precious wood in the Vonipenta Forest Range in Kadapa district on Thursday.
In the wee hours of Thursday, when the smugglers were loading the logs onto the vehicles, the officials raided their places at Thoopalli area in the Vonipenta range. Fifteen smugglers were arrested of which 13 were from Tamil Nadu.
It was learnt during interrogation that the smugglers had planned to move the red sanders logs since the police were busy with security arrangements for the election of MLCs from graduates' and teachers' constituencies in the Rayalaseema region.