In a joint operation by the Kadapa police and the forest personnel, 19 red sanders smugglers from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were nabbed from the Kothakota-Dasaripalle reserve forest area of Kasinayana mandal in Kadapa district, in the early hours of Thursday.

The personnel seized three-and-a-half tonnes of red sanders logs worth over Rs. 7 crore along with a truck while it was about to leave for Bengaluru.

Additional Superintendent of Police (red sanders operations) Rahul Dev Sharma and Divisional Forest Officer (Proddatur) Ravi Shankar, addressing a joint press conference at Kadapa, said the smugglers on noticing the raid party started hurling stones at them, besides trying to attack them with machetes and axes.

However, the personnel managed to nab the smugglers. On verification it was found that the smugglers were from Changam and Vasanthapuram villages of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu and from Kolar district in Karnataka.

During interrogation, it came to light that all the accused had assembled at Katigenahelli village in Karnataka near the house of red sanders smuggler Fayaz Shareef last month.

Form network

They formed a network comprising notorious smugglers -- Kala Fayaz, Moula, Babu Bhai and Murugeshan -- all of whom were arrested in today’s raid. The smugglers had even planned to kill the forest and the police personnel, if their operations were interrupted. According to the plan, 26 smugglers entered the forest area in Kadapa district and among them 19 were nabbed this morning.

Special teams have been formed to comb the forest area for the remaining seven. The Additional SP and the DFO appreciated the police and the forest personnel of Kadapa, Mydukuru, and Porumamilla circles for the successful operation.

19 smugglers from Vasanthapuram and Changam of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu

and from Kolar district in Karnataka arrested