₹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.

Published on: Oct 8, 2025, 04:58:02 IST

By Jignasa Sinha

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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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jignasa Sinha
Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More

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