The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) personnel seized 14 red sanders logs and arrested a smuggler at a Seshachalam Hills forest area of Piler division in Annamayya district on Monday.
As per the orders of RSASTF in-charge and Tirupati Superintendent of Police (SP) V. Harshavardhan Raju, a combing party left the Task Force headquarters in Tirupati on Sunday evening and reached Ellamanda in Piler division on Monday morning.
While combing toward the Manchal Manda beat was on, the team reached the banks of the Pincha River in Marella beat, where they spotted smuggling operatives carrying red sanders logs on their heads and negotiating a bend.
As the team tried to surround them, they dropped the logs and ran away. The police managed to catch one offender, identified as Balaraman Periyaswamy (44) of the Anaikattu area of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu. He was arrested and sent for remand.
The personnel collected fourteen logs from the bushes and shifted them to the Task Force office in Tirupati. A search party was formed to track down the elusive operatives.
Published - July 08, 2024 07:00 pm IST
