Mumbai crime branch has busted another smuggling racket with the seizure of 1,340kg of red sanders worth Rs 1.3 crore from the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road on Thursday. This is the third biggest seizure by the crime branch this year. In two separate cases from September, the city crime branch unit 9 has so far seized red sanders worth Rs 25 crore.
According to the crime branch officer, they received information about a huge consignment of red sanders being smuggled by road. Acting on the tip-off, the crime branch team along with the forest officials intercepted a tempo on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd road on Thursday. During the search, 53 trunks of red sanders weighing 1,340kg were seized.
The tempo driver Bhausaheb Bhosale, 34, and Ashraf Rahim Phoolwale, 35, were arrested under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section of theft (379) and under sections of the Indian Forest Act. According to the crime branch officer, the red sanders could have been smuggled from Chennai and it was meant to be illegally exported to China and Hong Kong, where there is a high demand, through the sea route.
In September, the crime branch unit 9 had seized red sanders worth Rs 22 crore in two separate raids. In the second operation, they busted another smuggling racket at the cargo terminal at the Mumbai international airport on November 10.
During the raid, crime branch seized 600kg of red sanders worth Rs 3.5 crore.
