Seven persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in delivering sandalwood to a smuggling gang from Panapuzha near Taliparamba in Kannur. The arrests were made by a team led by range forest officer P. Ratheesan as part of the ongoing crackdown on illegal sandalwood trade in the region.
The accused are Naseer, 43, Chitran, 42, and Sreejith, 37, from Olayambadi Peruvemba, Valsan Rampeth, 43, from Perunthatta, Chandran, 62, and Balakrishnan, 48, from Panapuzha, and Savin Vishwanath, 25, from Mathamangalam. The authorities confiscated 2.5 kg of sandalwood along with the autorickshaw used for the alleged smuggling.
The operation follows an earlier crackdown in May when the Tamil Nadu Forest department intercepted over 1.5 quintals of sandalwood being transported from Salem to a sandalwood factory in Puducherry. During that raid, six from Malappuram, including I.T. Muhammad Abral and A.P. Muhammad Mishal, were detained for their involvement in the smuggling network.
Information obtained from the interrogation of Abral and Mishal led officials to Naseer, who was reportedly transporting sandalwood from the Pilathara area. Further investigation connected them to Valsan Rampeth, who was implicated in the financial transactions related to the smuggling.
Subsequently, Sreejith and Chitran were apprehended by Forest officials near the Panapuzha bridge. Chandran, Balakrishnan, and Savin Vishwanath were later taken into custody near the Panapuzha post office.
Meanwhile, a search is on for G. Shinu, a native of Mathamangalam, believed to be a key member of the smuggling group.
The team that made the arrests included senior forest officers C. Pradeepan and M. Ranjith, beat forest officers Jijesh and Nikesh, and Mohammad Shafi, Minnu Tommy, Manoj Varghese, and Pradeepan.
Published – October 09, 2024 08:11 pm IST
