Police bust sandalwood smuggling racket worth Rs 3 cr, arrest eight

Three of the arrested suspects. Credit: DH Photo

Arresting eight smugglers, High Grounds police have seized 730 kilograms of sandalwood and 170 kilograms of sandalwood oil, together worth Rs 3 crore.

The gang comprising Govinda Swamy, 30, of Rangasamudra; K Madu alias Mada, 36, from Yercaud in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district; Venkatesh, 22, and Varadaraju, 66, both hailing from Tamil Nadu’s Tirupattur; Ramachandra, 29, residing in JP Nagar; Wasim Baig, 35, from Kattigenahalli; Ramachandrappa, 54, of Mandikal in Chikkaballapura; and Nanjegowda, 74, from Chikkaballapur sawed down a sandalwood tree in the Golf Club premises on August 1.

The police had registered a case and formed an investigation team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Seshadripuram) Chandan Kumar N and inspector C B Shivaswamy.

The police team initially arrested Govinda, Madu, Venkatesh and Ramachandra who cut down the tree and smuggled it from the Golf Club premises. The four told police that they had entered the premises through the damaged section of the fencing.

Splitting themselves into two gangs, the foursome tasked Ramachandra with finding the trees, while the other three would reach the spot in the evening and stay till midnight. The trio would then axe the tree, chop it into small pieces and cart them away.

Rains made it easier

Police said the men used mechanical tools, and took just five minutes to chop and spirit away the tree.

The group marks trees for cutting during the rains, or soon after, as the dampness reduces the noise.

During interrogation, the arrested men gave away the names of a few buyers —Baig, Riyaz, Nayaz, Altaf, Basheer, Ramachandrappa, and Varadaraju.

The buyers resold the sandalwood to Nishath Fragrances near Madakasira, in Andhra Pradesh. Police raided the company premises and seized 620 kilograms of sandalwood, 147 kilograms of sandalwood oil, and a weighing machine. They arrested Nanjegowda who managed the factory.

With these arrests, police solved 10 cases of sandalwood thefts. The gang stole sandalwood from High Grounds, Sadashivanagar, Madiwala, Jayanagar, KR Puram forest area, Anekal forest area, Turahalli, and Jnanabharathi. The arrested men were produced before the court and had been taken into police custody.