Two held for smuggling Acacia catechu wood in Noida

Two men were arrested in Noida for smuggling 55 quintals of Acacia catechu wood worth ₹50 lakh from Bihar, using fake bills to evade detection.

Noida: Two men were arrested in Noida on Thursday for allegedly felling and smuggling Acacia catechu wood from Bihar to the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), police said, adding that 55 quintals of wood worth around ₹50 lakh was seized.

Police nabbed the suspects while they were carrying the wood in a truck to sell off in Delhi and Haryana. (HT Photo)

Police nabbed the suspects Ravindra Kumar, 36, a resident of Dado, Aligarh, and Taj Khan, 33, a resident of Motihari, Bihar while they were carrying the wood in a truck to sell off in Delhi and Haryana.

The arrests followed a tip-off of the suspects being on their way to Delhi via Noida. “Based on the information, a team of Phase 2 police was deployed, and the suspects, travelling in a truck, were stopped for checking near Kakrala T-point in Noida,” said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.

“When the truck was checked, Acacia catechu wood covered with bananas and banana leaves was found hidden,” the officer added.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were going to sell off the wood, police said.

“Investigation revealed that the suspects used to collect the wood from Madhubani, Bihar to sell it in the Delhi-NCR region. We have recovered 55 quintals of wood worth around ₹50 lakh from their possession,” said additional DCP (Central Noida) Shavya Goyal, adding that the suspects were also involved in making fake bills of bananas and banana leaves to mislead authorities during routine checks.

Notably, the transportation and selling of Acacia catechu wood is not banned, but there are some species that are restricted from being cut and sold without authorities’ permission. The suspects lacked any such permission.

Police said they are also probing suspects’ crime records and people linked to them in smuggling.

A case under Sections 318(4) (cheating), 317(4) (stolen property), 336(3), and 340(2) (forgery) of the BNS and the Wildlife Protection Act was registered at Phase 2 police station, and further investigation is on, officers said.