HYDERABAD: Rachakonda police busted a red sanders smuggling racket and arrested two persons from their hideout at Moula Ali on Friday. 1.5 tonnes of Red Sanders worth over Rs 60.18 lakh were seized from them.
The arrested persons were Shaik Mohammed Rafi and Mulla Basheer Amhed. They belong to Andhra Pradesh. The twosome, along with Murthy, who is absconding, were smuggling red Sanders to clients all over India, sources said.
Police said Rafi is into supplying Banana from Andhra Pradesh to various states viz., UP, Rajasthan, Delhi, Telangana, etc. Ahmed procured bananas from Rafi and supplied them to retailers.
However, due to financial loss in the Banana business, they hatched a plan to procure and sell the red sander wood in Telangana to clear their debts and came in contact with one Murthy of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh.
Murthy collected a number of Rs. one lakh from them and supplied the 31 red sanders weighing about 1500 kgs and they brought the red sanders to Hyderabad and stored them near Government Land in Moula-Ali Dargah, Malkajgiri.
On a tip-off, sleuths of the Special Operations Team from LB Nagar Zone along with Malkajgiri police raided the hideout and seized the red Sanders. Further investigation is under process, the police said.