TIRUPATI: Special Task Force personnel arrested 80 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu, suspected to be engaged by red sanders smugglers, while they were on their way to Seshachalam forest area in the early hours of Friday.
The police had received a tip-off that a large number of woodcutters from Arcot district of Tamil Nadu were on their way to the Seschalama forest. They then formed four teams and started searching vehicles on different routes leading to the Seshachalam forest area.
At Anjaneya Puram check-post near Tirupati, the police found 80 people hidden under a tarapulin-covered truck. They found large cooking utensils and bags with clothes in the truck. All of them were taken to Tirupati for questioning.