The Pune regional unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested five persons in connection with smuggling Ran sandalwood, also known as red sanders.
A press release issued on Saturday by the DRI stated that about 8 metric tonnes (MTs) of red sanders with an illicit market value of approximately Rs 7.9 crore was seized under relevant provisions of the Customs Act.
The press release mentioned that based on specific intelligence, officers of DRI, Pune Regional Unit mounted a surveillance on a syndicate attempting to smuggle red sandalwood out of India by declaring the same as granite marble slabs.
A discrete watch was kept on the contraband being loaded into a container. DRI sleuths intercepted the container soon after it entered the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), also known as the Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai for export.
“On examination, it was found that six tonnes of red sanders was concealed behind the polished granite slabs and cement bricks,” the press release stated.
During further investigation, the DRI conducted searches at Ahmednagar, Nashik and Hyderabad. A search was conducted at a godown in Nashik, wherein 2 MTs red sanders was seized which were also supposed to be exported in the coming days. “The 6 MTs of red sanders seized at JNPT were stored and removed for export from the same godown.
The IEC holder and the transporters were also successfully intercepted during the follow up action,” the press release stated.
DRI officials said that five members of the cartel including the exporter, the commission broker, the godown manager and the transporter were arrested and later a court remanded them to judicial custody.
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