‘Pushpa’-style sandalwood smuggling busted; 750 kg hidden under onion sacks seized in Bengaluru: Report

The Bengaluru police busted a sandalwood smuggling racket, and arrest four persons from Andhra Pradesh.

In a real-life twist straight out of Pushpa: The Rise, Bengaluru police busted a sandalwood smuggling racket that tried to sneak precious logs into the city, hidden beneath onion sacks.

Bengaluru police uncovered a sandalwood smuggling operation, seizing 750 kg of precious logs hidden under onion sacks. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The Siddapura police arrested four men from Andhra Pradesh, identified as Sheik Abdul Kalam, Sheik Sharukh, Parameshwara, and Ram Bhupal, after intercepting a mini goods vehicle near the city outskirts, a report by The Times of India said. Officers had stopped the vehicle for a routine check, suspecting nothing more than a vegetable shipment.

When questioned, drivers Parameshwara and Ram confidently claimed the vehicle was carrying onions. But their story quickly fell apart when police officers decided to dig deeper. Underneath layers of onion sacks, they discovered 18 bundles of freshly cut sandalwood logs, weighing close to 750 kilograms.

Following the dramatic discovery, two more suspects, Kalam and Sharukh, were caught in an SUV trailing the truck. Upon interrogation, Kalam allegedly revealed that the consignment was supplied by a man named Siraj from Kurnool, who had instructed them to deliver the logs to a smuggler in Bengaluru, the report said.

Investigators believed the gang was part of a cross-border sandalwood network operating between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, using everyday goods vehicles to mask the illegal trade, mirroring tactics glamorised in cinema but driven by real profit motives.

Police have booked the accused under the Karnataka Forest Act and Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for theft. The seized sandalwood has been handed over to forest officials for valuation, the report noted.