Forest department officials of the Kadapa district have seized 66 logs of red sanders worth Rs 5 lakh at Jallakona area near Rollamadugu beat in Rajampet Mandal, Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to , Rajampet in-charge of District Forest Officer (DFO) Y V Narasimha Rao said, "a group of people from Tamil Nadu were smuggling red sanders on Wednesday evening at around 6 pm."
"The forest department officials conduct a raid and caught 5 of them. The forest officials have seized 66 logs of red sanders weighing 2100 kilograms. Its value is almost Rs 5 lakhs. However, almost 30 smugglers escaped," he said.
The case has been filed against the arrested five smugglers under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act and Bio-Diversity Act 2002.
The accused were produced before the court on Thursday, said the DFO.
The search operation for the escaped smugglers is underway.
( With inputs from ANI )
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