10 Tons Worth ₹6 Crore Red Sandalwood Seized, Two Interstate Smugglers Arrested in Delhi ● Close to 10 Tons of Red sanders worth Rs. 6 crore, smuggled from Tirupati to Delhi has been recovered ● 2 Persons involved in this smuggling arrested.

 

 Face2News/New Delhi

In a coordinated effort, a joint team of Special Task Force/South East District, Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) of Andhra Pradesh & Intelligence Andra Pradesh Police team conducted a raid at a godown in Tughlakabad village.

During this operation, they recovered about 9,500 kg of Red Sanders that had been illegally smuggled from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh to Delhi.INCIDENT & OPERATION:In August 2025, an FIR was registered at Tirupati Police Station concerning the theft of Red Sandalwood. Subsequently, the Andhra Pradesh police apprehended individuals who disclosed that the logs were being transported to Delhi.

Acting on this information provided by the AP Task Force, a joint team of STF/South-East District and RSASTF, AP police was formed. The team developed intelligence and conducted a raid, leading to the arrest of accused namely Irfan s/o Noor Mohammad and Amit Sampat Pawar s/o Sampat Karam Pawar in Delhi on October 6, 2025.

Following their interrogation, the joint team raided a godown in Tughlakabad village, recovering about 10 Tons of red sandalwood. The accused had illegally acquired the Red Sandalwood logs from Andhra Pradesh in the first week of August 2025 and concealed them in a truck to bring them to Delhi. TEAM:STF/SED team consisted of Inspector Pramod Chauhan, ASI Mukesh, HC Manoj, HC Sehzad, HC Kapil & HC BhimRSASTF team of Andhra Pradesh Police consisted of Inspector  Khadar Basha, SI Murlidhar, CT Bilal & CT Krishna

INTERROGATION:On sustained interrogation, the accused admitted they were planning to smuggle the logs to China and South Asian countries, where Red Sanders is highly valued for its medicinal properties. Further investigation is in progress to uncover their other links.PROFILE OF ACCUSED PERSONS:1. Irfan s/o Noor Mohammad r/o Toli Chowki, Hyderabad. He used to smuggle Red Sandalwood for his livelihood. Previously he was arrested by PS Tirupati in 2023 for Smuggling Red Sandalwood.2. Amit Sampat Pawar s/o Sampat Karam Pawar r/o Sector 21, Thane, Navi Mumbai. He used to smuggle Red Sandalwood for his livelihood. No previous involvement has been found.