Two months on, no headway in red sandalwood case

Over two months after the recovery of red sandalwood worth crores at the Sahnewal dry port and in a store in Doraha, the department of customs is yet to arrest the accused.

Over two months after the recovery of red sandalwood worth crores at the Sahnewal dry port and in a store in Doraha, the department of customs is yet to arrest the accused.

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According to officials in the department of customs, the accused have been identified; but the department has not been able to arrest them and bust the racket involving smuggling of banned red sandalwood.

VK Khosla, deputy commissioner, anti-smuggling branch, department of customs, said the department had identified the persons involved in the smuggling of proscribed wood and search was on to nab them.

He said the department would issue look-out circulars, so the accused can't leave the country.
Khosla said the the physical verification of the container that was sent to Nava Shera port in Mumbai had confirmed that it was also carrying the banned red sandalwood.

The officials of department of customs had in April recovered red sandalwood from a container at Sahnewal dry port and a warehouse in a village near Doraha.

The recovery was done after complaint from a Jalandhar-based manufacture of nuts and bolts. He had raised doubts over the activities of the company through which they were exporting company's products from Sahnewal dry port.