KADAPA: Two forest watchers and an RMP were among the six arrested for smuggling red sanders in the district on Wednesday. The police seized 15 red sanders logs worth Rs 9 lakh, a car and two bikes from them in Rajampet division.
Addressing a press conference at Railway Koduru police station on Wednesday, DSP B Lakshminarayana said that the police got a tip-off that some smugglers were indulging in axing red sanders trees and exporting the logs to neighbouring States. The police formed three teams to nab the smugglers.
A police team led by Sub-Inspector M Bhaktavatsalam spotted a group of smugglers at a mango orchard at Kukkaladoddi village. On seeing the police, the woodcutters and smugglers tried to attack them with axes and stones. After repulsing the attack, the police arrested two smuggles P Ankaiah and Guravaiah. Others managed to escape. The police seized five red sanders logs, one car and one motorcycle from them.
Another police team led by Sub-Inspector P Satyanarayana, raided Chennampodu village in Obulavaripalle mandal and arrested RMP K Nageswara Rao and forest watcher M Sudhakar and seized four red sanders logs, one motorcycle and axes from them.
Another police team headed by SI P Venkateswarlu, while conducting a combing operation, spotted forest watcher M Parasuram and M Sreenu and seized six red sanders logs and axes from them. In the three raids, the police identified 18 red sanders smugglers and woodcutters. They were able to arrest six of them and seized 15 red sanders logs worth Rs 9.28 lakh. The arrested RMP Nageswara Rao was doing practice in Koduru, while M Parasuram and M Sudhakar were working as forest watchers in the department. The DSP appreciated the SIs for nabbing the red sanders smugglers and woodcutters and said rewards would be announced for them soon.