NELLORE: Kavali police on Monday arrested 27 smugglers and woodcutters and seized 50 red sanders logs worth Rs 70 lakh from them after conducting raids. A police team, led by Sangam Sub-Inspector G Venu, apprehended nine red sanders smugglers. Ten woodcutters of Tamil Nadu were arrested by Kavali rural SI Pulla Rao. Duttalur SI Rajesh nabbed eight woodcutters in another raid.
Disclosing this to newsmen at Kavali, OSD (Crimes) TP Vithaleswar said the police seized four cars, six axes and 24 mobile phones from the arrested in the raids. The police conducted the raids following a tip-off while the smugglers were transporting the red sanders logs in vehicles with the help of woodcutters from Veligonda forest. Some unidentified persons informed the smuggling of red sanders to Superintendent of Police PHD Ramakrishna, who in turn alerted the police teams in Sangam, Kavali rural and Duttalur. The OSD congratulated the police teams for nabbing the red sanders smugglers. Kavali DSP Raghu and Kavali rural SI Ashokvardhan were also present at the news conference.
Meanwhile, Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force IG M Kantha Rao who held a meeting with police officials at Udayagiri, directed them to step up vigil and curb the red sanders smuggling in the district with an iron hand.