Police inspector Sunil Makeshwar said that based on a tip-off, they seized around 4,730 kg of red sanders at Govalkot in Chiplun.
On Saturday, the Ratnagiri police and the forest department seized around 4,700 kg of red sanders, taking the total weight of these confiscated logs during a fortnight to almost 14,000 kg. The seizure unfolds possibilities of an illegal export racket larger than earlier estimated.
Police inspector Sunil Makeshwar said that based on a tip-off, they seized around 4,730 kg of red sanders at Govalkot in Chiplun.
"The previous contraband and this seizure have similar markings and characteristics. This was hidden in an open space under plastic sheets," said Makeshwar. Forest guard Ramdas Khot said the 100 logs were valued at around Rs 56.76 lakh in the market. On December 30 and 31, the state forest department had unearthed 9,200 kg kg of the wood (a type of sandalwood), which has high demand abroad as an aphrodisiac and for medicines and woodcraft.
A deciduous tree, it is among the most valued and trafficked wildlife commodities with an illicit turnover even outnumbering the trade in tiger body parts. Officials are on the lookout for one Isa Jamaluddin Halde, a Govalkot resident, in connection to the trafficking. The endangered tree is protected under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and its trade is illegal.
According to the union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Palakonda and Seshachalam hill ranges of Cuddapah-Chittoor districts in Andhra Pradesh are its principal geographical range which extends slightly into the neighbouring Anantapur, Kurnool, Prakasam, and Nellore districts in the state. Sporadic wild populations occur in the adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
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