Officers of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the city police, on Wednesday afternoon, busted a gang that smuggled red sanders weighing four tonnes (worth over Rs. 50 lakh) into the State.
The gang hid the wood in a plantain grove in Red Hills and was planning to sell them.
Acting on a tip-off, the CCB special team raided the grove in Mondiamman Nagar, and discovered the red sanders that had been smuggled from Kadappa in Andhra Pradesh.
Ravi (46) of Tondiarpet and Muruganandham (45) of Padianallur, who smuggled the wood, were held.
The red sanders and the minivan used to smuggle them were seized. A further probe is under way, the police said.
