Forest officials on Thursday seized 2.5 tonnes of red sanders logs on the forest check post at Gollapalle on the outskirts of Puttur. On a tip-off Puttur range officials waylaid the vehicle at the check post on its way to Chennai from Tirupati.
When intercepted, a youth who driving the SUV jumped out and escaped into nearby fields, under the cover of darkness. The officials found 61 high quality logs weighing over 2.5 tonnes in the vehicle. The worth of seized logs was estimated to cost over Rs 3 crore in the international market. The seizures were shifted to area godown. A case has been registered. It is for the first time that a huge quantum of red sanders logs being seized on the Chennai National Highway, though there were instances of seizures in small quantities.
