The Gurugram Police arrested a 27-year-old man from Rajasthan on Sunday for allegedly smuggling red sanders from Karnataka to Delhi via Gurugram in a cargo van, police said adding that the consignment was worth ₹2 crore.
A crime branch team intercepted the van based on a tip -off from the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway but the driver managed to escape from the spot, police said.
The police team seized 125 red sanders logs weighing 4,200 kg, concealed in 90 cartons. The cargo is worth an estimated ₹2 crore, police added.
They identified the suspect as Amir Khan, a resident of Budhpur village in Palwal. He was arrested from Jodhpur Ubaka village in Deeg district.
A case has been registered against unidentified offenders under sections 379 (theft), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Indian Forest Act, based on the complaint of a sub-inspector from the Manesar police station.
Varun Dhaiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that on June 10 sub-inspector Surendra Singh of the crime branch and his team deployed near the KMP Expressway toll at Pachgaon Chowk, received information that a cargo van was travelling from Karnataka laden with smuggled red sanders. The police team, along with the forest range officer of Manesar, laid a trap near the Shanidev temple on NH-8.
{{/usCountry}}Varun Dhaiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that on June 10 sub-inspector Surendra Singh of the crime branch and his team deployed near the KMP Expressway toll at Pachgaon Chowk, received information that a cargo van was travelling from Karnataka laden with smuggled red sanders. The police team, along with the forest range officer of Manesar, laid a trap near the Shanidev temple on NH-8.
{{/usCountry}}“The teams deployed there took prompt action and started patrolling the area. They saw a cargo van with a Karnataka registration number. The team signalled to the driver to stop but he accelerated and later fled from the spot abandoning the vehicle,” Singh said.
The cartons concealing the 125 red sanders were labelled as ice fillers and electrical dispensers. In the driver’s cabin, police found bills for the consignment issued by a logistics company of Bangalore. “Red sanders are used in the manufacture of certain musical instruments and some medicines,” said Dahiya.