The police on Saturday nabbed three persons and seized 20 logs of red sanders, a car, some cash, two mobile phones, axes and saws, after raiding a forest location at Tippayapalle beat of Pullampeta mandal in Kadapa district.
Superintendent of Police (Kadapa) K.K.N. Anburajan told the media that the arrested were identified as repeat offender C. Subramanyam (38) of Tirupati and his two accomplices M. Sudhakar Reddy (32) of Proddatur town and forest protection watcher N. Sivanjaneyulu Reddy (27) of Pullampeta mandal. They had brought woodcutters from Tamil Nadu got the red sanders trees cut and dressed from the forest at Tippayapalle.
When the trio was loading the logs into a car with T.N. registration at the forest location, the Pullampeta police, who received information about the activity, had rushed to the spot around 3 a.m. On seeing the police personnel, the accused had attacked them with axes and saws. However, the police could surround the operatives and nabbed the three, while the others had fled the scene under the cover of darkness. The prime accused, Subramanyam, had been in the red sanders smuggling since 2009. Additional forces were deployed to nab the other operatives, the SP said.
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