COIMBATORE: Racecourse police arrested a three-member gang for allegedly smuggling two sandalwood trees from a DFO’s camp office in the city. The arrested were identified as M Esak Kumar (28) from Maiyapuram in Erode, C Senthil (40) from Nesavalar Colony in Tirupur and R Selvakumar (34) of Ellispettai in Erode.
Police also seized sandalwood pieces worth Rs 50,000 and the equipment used for the smuggling, from them. The police are on the lookout for one more suspect, S Selvakumar from Kembanaickenpatti.
The city police constituted a special team and instructed them to investigate the pending smuggling cases registered in 2023. The gang, on October 21, chopped two trees from the premises of the district forest officer’s camp office at Racecourse. While the special team checked the CCTV footage, they identified the gang and they were spotted at Erode on Saturday, said police sources.