Panvel city cops seize red sanders worth Rs13 lakh

A few local residents found 42 logs of red sanders, which were lying along the Gadi river in Panvel on Friday night, are informed the police.

They police have seized the logs spotted at an isolated spot near Sangoli village. According to them, the price of red sanders in Indian market would be around Rs12.60 lakh.

"It is still not clear who brought the sanders to that spot and where they were planning to deliver it to. However, it is evident that those logs were stolen from a nearby state. We think the thieves were planning to export them to some Gulf country," said a police officer from Panvel city police station.

Export of red sanders is prohibited in terms of Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of wild flora and fauna to which India is a signatory.

"We informed the forest officials after we taking the red sanders into our custody. They came and examined the logs. We are now planning to send some samples to Dehradun for further examinations," the officer added.

Red sanders have a very high value in international market. Medicines for various diseases, ointments for burning injuries are made from these red sanders. It is also used for blood purification and in preparing some ayurvedic medicines.

The city crime branch had seized a total of 69.39 tonnes of red sanders worth Rs13,88,28,000 in 2013.