High-value sandalwood smuggling gang busted in Nalgonda

Nalgonda police arrested three individuals for felling and smuggling 166 high-value sandalwood trees from six farms in the district, valued at Rs 1.66 crore. Three key suspects remain at large. Police seized 11 logs, motorcycles, and mobile phones.

Nalgonda: Nalgonda police have arrested three individuals accused of felling and smuggling high-value sandalwood trees from farmers’ long-term plantations in the district. Three key suspects involved in the gang’s operations remain at large. All members hailed from outside the state— three from Maharashtra and three from Madhya Pradesh.

The gang had targeted six farms across Kanagal, Thimmanagudem, Telakantigudem, Narkatpalli, Gurrampodu and Chandur mandals, chopping down 166 trees valued at an estimated Rs 1.66 crore.

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Known for their medicinal properties and use in perfumes and incense, the trees were being sold on the black market. Police seized 11 logs, two motorcycles, and two mobile phones from the arrested suspects.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Shivaram Reddy revealed that the accused including Divana (21), Daddasing (20), and Majan (20), all from Maharashtra, were apprehended during a routine vehicle check in Kanagal mandal on Wednesday night. They were riding motorcycles laden with suspicious cargo at the time.

Interrogation revealed that the group initially posed as peddlers of “rudraksha beads,” travelling from village to village. They had been living in makeshift huts on the outskirts of Hyderabad and its suburbs. A Maharashtra native, Lakshman Gaikwad, joined them last month and planned a lucrative tree-felling scheme. Acting on his tip-off, the gang executed raids on the six farms. Police investigations are ongoing.