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Coimbatore: Forest department officials arrested five people for attempting to smuggle 73kg of sandalwood from Pollachi forest range in the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Friday.
A forest officer said ATR deputy field director M G Ganesan and forest range officer A Kasilingam deployed a team to comb the reserve forest area on the day after they received a tip about the movement of some people at Sarkarpathi in Pollachi forest range area.
“The team surrounded the five while they were loading the sandalwood onto a car. They had cut the sandalwood into 39 logs and were planning to sell the same to 53-year-old K P Abdulsaleem, a resident of of Kozhinjampara in Palakkad district for 1,700 per kg,” the officer said.
The officer identified the arrested as 40-year-old N Venkatesh, a resident of Arthanaripalayam in Pollachi, 47-year-old M Mohammed Basheer, of Thenkara village in Palakkad district, and 23-year-old T Manikandan, 26-year-old T Chakkaravarthy and 21-year-old T Anbalagan, all residents of Jamunamarathur in Thiruvannamalai district.
He said the five were being used by Abdulsaleem, who was held in 2018 for attempting to smuggle sandalwood in Pollachi. “He was fined Rs1 lakh then. Now, he is using other people to smuggle sandalwood. We have sought help from the Kerala forest department to secure Abdulsaleem, who is on the run.”
The officer said Mohammed Basheer was a driver, while Venkatesh would locate the area in reserve forests with sandalwood. The remaining three were woodcutters.
He said Manikandan had in the past gone to Andhra Pradesh to cut red sanders. “He brought Chakkaravarthy and Anbalagan to ATR from his village and axed a sandalwood tree in Ulandhi forest range and another one in Pollachi forest range. We caught the five when they were loading the sandalwood onto the car.”
The forest department has registered a case against the arrested five and Abdulsaleem under Section 21(d)(e)(f) of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act and Section 29 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
A forest officer said ATR deputy field director M G Ganesan and forest range officer A Kasilingam deployed a team to comb the reserve forest area on the day after they received a tip about the movement of some people at Sarkarpathi in Pollachi forest range area.
“The team surrounded the five while they were loading the sandalwood onto a car. They had cut the sandalwood into 39 logs and were planning to sell the same to 53-year-old K P Abdulsaleem, a resident of of Kozhinjampara in Palakkad district for 1,700 per kg,” the officer said.
The officer identified the arrested as 40-year-old N Venkatesh, a resident of Arthanaripalayam in Pollachi, 47-year-old M Mohammed Basheer, of Thenkara village in Palakkad district, and 23-year-old T Manikandan, 26-year-old T Chakkaravarthy and 21-year-old T Anbalagan, all residents of Jamunamarathur in Thiruvannamalai district.
He said the five were being used by Abdulsaleem, who was held in 2018 for attempting to smuggle sandalwood in Pollachi. “He was fined Rs1 lakh then. Now, he is using other people to smuggle sandalwood. We have sought help from the Kerala forest department to secure Abdulsaleem, who is on the run.”
The officer said Mohammed Basheer was a driver, while Venkatesh would locate the area in reserve forests with sandalwood. The remaining three were woodcutters.
He said Manikandan had in the past gone to Andhra Pradesh to cut red sanders. “He brought Chakkaravarthy and Anbalagan to ATR from his village and axed a sandalwood tree in Ulandhi forest range and another one in Pollachi forest range. We caught the five when they were loading the sandalwood onto the car.”
The forest department has registered a case against the arrested five and Abdulsaleem under Section 21(d)(e)(f) of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act and Section 29 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
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