Sandalwood worth Rs 3 crore seized in Panvel, two arrested

The Panvel forest department on Tuesday arrested two persons and confiscated sandalwood worth Rs3 crore in the international market. In the domestic market, the sandalwood costs Rs1.5 core, officials said.

After receiving a tip-off, the forest department officials carried started checking vehicles which were heading towards JNPT. During the check, the officials of the forest department found a truck carrying huge amount of sandalwood which was hidden beneath the coconuts.

The department seized both truck as well as the sandalwood and arrested the driver and cleaner. “A total 262 pieces of sandalwood were seized from accused,” said Krishna Aloorkar, forest conservatory officer, Alibaug.

Aloorkar added, “The sandalwood was brought from Chennai and was supposed to be exported to Gulf countries through JNPT.”

The accused have been identified as driver Prakash Kunnuswamy, 37, and Bodhu Bojhi Ulus Kodi, 35, the cleaner. Both are natives of Chennai.

According to forest department official, the arrested duo are not the main accused. They were just entrusted with the job of delivering the stolen sandalwoods to a certain person.
“A big racket is involved in the smuggling of sandalwood,” the official concluded.

Smuggling of sandalwood
After receiving a tip-off, the forest department officials carried started checking vehicles heading towards JNPT. During the check, they found a truck carrying huge amount of sandalwood hidden beneath coconuts.

The department seized truck as well as the sandalwood and arrested the driver and cleaner. “A total 262 pieces of sandalwood were seized from accused,” said Krishna Aloorkar, forest conservatory officer, Alibaug.