Salem District forest department officials along with the seized sandalwood on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The forest department arrested a Kerala-based six-member gang for smuggling sandalwood on Wednesday.
On Monday evening, Forest Department officials at Magudanchavadi in the Erode-Salem National Highway, acting on a tip-off, inspected a minivan and found 1.5 tonnes of sandalwood pieces in 86 gunny bags. The officials arrested two individuals, S. Mohammed Sugal (34) and H. Mohammed Pasil Rahman (26), both from Malappuram in Kerala, who were in the van.
Further investigations led to four more people involved in the smuggling being nabbed. They were identified as M. Mohammed Misal (27), A. Mohammed Abbar (26), A. Bajash (35) and A. Umar (43), all from Malappuram in Kerala. They were traced to their hotels in Erode through their mobile phone signals.
Investigations revealed that the gang smuggled the sandalwood from a forest in Kerala and delivered it to another gang in Salem, from where the sandalwood was transported to Chennai and Puducherry. The Forest Department registered a case against the six and remanded them in prison.
