Carrying out a major operation in Bengaluru on Monday, red sanders sleuths of the Kadapa Police busted a Chinese-run warehouse in which some employees of the courier company DHL were found to be involved.
Along with the two DHL employees – Saravannan and Rakesh – police captured a Chinese man, Zhang Yong Zhow (41), said to be a major ringleader in the red sanders smuggling network. The DHL employees were allegedly engaged by the Chinese ring to conceal red sanders pieces in reels of copper wiring so that they can be transported across national borders as electrical goods.
Acting with the logistic support of their Bengaluru counterparts, the Kadapa police raided a godown in the Katikanahali area on Monday and seized red sanders material worth over Rs . 1 crore and later nabbed its Chinese keeper, Zhang Yong Zhow (41), at a hotel. While two other Chinese nationals escaped during the raid, the DHL staffers were caught.
Major catch
The Kadapa Police said the capture of Zhang is a major catch, the culmination of a ten-day operation in Koramangala and Katikanahali areas in Bengaluru.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Pulivendula) K.K.N. Anburajan said the breakthrough came on June 12 when a smuggling operative, Liyakath Ali (33), was nabbed at Koramangala. Information extracted from him led to a Chinese national named Chang Pema Tharu alias Chak Dhar (26), which in turn led to the arrest of another Chinese national, Fian Wu Qinsan (26), two days later.
Sniffing a major discovery, the sleuths stepped up their operation in Bengaluru, leading to Monday’s arrest of Zhang.
Mr. Anburajan said, "One of the two DHL employees, Saravannan, also confessed to operating a red sanders godown in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. We are working on that angle now.”
At the Katikanahali godown, the sleuths seized A grade red sanders material (considered the costliest grade) worth over Rs 1 crore. Police suspect there may have been more, but stocks may have been moved out since the earlier arrests. Police said Fian Wu Qinsan and Zhang Yong Zhow were smugglers who managed an extensive network across the Ind-Bhutan and Sino-Tibetan borders. Wu Qinsan is also considered the “most notorious red don.” The Chinese men are all said to hail from Ximpu province in China.
Red sanders pieces were concealed in reels of copper wiring so that they can be transported across national borders as electrical goods
