Sandalwood smuggler from TN held

 Forest department officials of Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary arrested a man from Tamil Nadu on Saturday for smuggling sandalwood.

The accused has been identified as Syed Noor of Talakavadi in Erode district. The accused was transporting 15 kg of sandalwood in a car.

According to the officials, a few smugglers, who are under judicial custody, had Noor’s contact numbers and based on the information provided by them, the officials trapped Noor, the prime accused.

Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) M Malatipriya told DH that the department had suspected Noor of being involved in smuggling. Following a tip off, we conducted a raid and trapped him, she said.