Police make 7th arrest in ₹15-crore red sandalwood smuggling case

The Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday arrested a 38-year-old man from Mira Road in connection with a ₹15-crore red sandalwood smuggling case.

The Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday arrested a 38-year-old man from Mira Road in connection with a ₹15-crore red sandalwood smuggling case.

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So far, the police have arrested seven persons in connection with the case.

Police said the accused, Shehzad Alam Sayyad, had brought the entire consignment of red sandalwood from Chennai and kept it in godowns at Bhendi Bazaar and Ghodbandar Road. Crime branch unit 9 raided both places in September and seized the red sandalwood stock. Sayyad’s associate, Imran Rafiq Shaikh, 43, was arrested at the time, but Sayyad had evaded arrest.

During the investigation, police learnt that Sayyad used to export red sandalwood to China in air cargo under the guise of furniture parts.

“Sayyad has been smuggling red sandalwood for the past five years and we suspect that he has sent several consignments from Mumbai through air cargo to China,” said a crime branch officer.

Activities of the smuggling ring came to light after a gang from Bengaluru, involved in smuggling red sandalwood to China, was busted by the Chittoor police. Sayyad’s name cropped up during the investigation and he was arrested in 2015. However, he was released on bail after spending six months behind bars.

During the interrogation, Sayyad revealed that he used to charge ₹2,100 per kilogram of red sandalwood from his customers in China. Police suspect that despite the details he has shared, the accused is withholding information regarding his smuggling business.

“Red sandalwood is in high demand in China for traditional medicinal purposes and is known as ‘red gold’ in Hong Kong,” said another police officer. According to the police, it is sourced from Andhra Pradesh and taken to Chennai where it is packed in boxes which later come to Mumbai via trucks.