Red sanders smuggled in car seized in Kengeri

Alert police intercepted a car used to smuggle five red sanders logs in western Bengaluru in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

The car driver, Chemala Chanchuraju, 30, from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, has been arrested while two of his accomplices managed to flee, police added.

The trio was transporting the precious wood in a Toyota Etios when a police team from Kengeri stopped it as part of a routine vehicle check around 3.30 am. The car was heading towards Mysuru at the time.

On seeing the police, the trio abandoned the car and tried to flee. Police gave chase and caught Chanchuraju while the other two managed to escape.

A search of the car revealed five red sanders logs weighing around 105 kg and worth around Rs 3.1 lakh. Chanchuraju was taken to the police station and the car and the red sanders were impounded.

A case has been registered under the Karnataka Forest Act and the IPC section dealing with theft.

Chanchuraju told the police he drives a car and works as a labourer to make a living. He claimed that a man from the Annamayya district in Andhra Pradesh had asked him to drive the car to Mysuru where a person would meet him and take the red sanders. The man sent Chanchuraju's friend Srinivas and another person with him. He promised to send the buyer once the trio reached Mysuru.

Fake registration

Meanwhile, police have found that the registration number on the car is fake. A search of the vehicle database revealed different chassis and engine numbers. Chanchuraju claims to be unaware that the car was stolen.

A senior police officer said they were making efforts to trace Srinivas and another person who had escaped. Efforts are also underway to trace the man from Annamayya. This could be a bigger red sanders smuggling racket, the officer added.