₹6cr smuggled red sandalwood seized from godown

Delhi Police and AP's anti-smuggling task force seized over 9,500 kg of red sandalwood worth ₹6 crore in a godown raid, arresting two suspects.

In a joint operation of Delhi Police and Andhra Pradesh Red Sanders Anti Smuggling Task Force, a godown in south Delhi was raided early on Monday and more than 9,500 kg of red sandalwood was seized. Police said the red sandalwood is worth more than ₹6 crore and was smuggled from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to Delhi.

The seized sandalwood was around 9.500kg. (Photo for representation)

Police officials in Delhi said the operation was conducted over a period of two months. In August, a complaint was filed in Tirupati after the AP Police found theft of red sandalwood. Police said they had apprehended a few suspects who revealed that the accused fled with the sandalwood and are going to Delhi.

Police in Tirupati contacted Delhi Police and the case was given to southeast special task force. Investigators said they checked CCTVs, contacted sources and informers, and looked for commercial vehicles from south India entering Delhi.

“After weeks of developing intelligence, we found that some logs are stored in a godown in Tughlakabad Village. On Monday, a team was formed and a raid at a godown was conducted. We found around 9.5 tonnes of red sandalwood. The accused had illegally acquired the Red Sandalwood logs from Andhra Pradesh in the first week of August 2025 and concealed them in a truck to bring them to Delhi” said DCP (southeast) Hemant Tiwari

The two men inside the godown- Irfan Mohammad and Amit Sampat Pawar were arrested.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted they were planning to smuggle the logs to China and South Asian countries, where red sandalwood is valued for its medicinal properties.

Police said Irfan was held in 2023 as well for smuggling red sandalwood.