The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has foiled an alleged red sanders smuggling operation at Chennai Port, seizing 12.87 tonnes of the protected wood valued at Rs 7.72 crore and arresting three people. The consignment was allegedly being exported to Malaysia after being falsely declared as paper laminate rolls.
DRI officers intercepted the export container on Monday following specific intelligence about an attempt by a Chennai-based syndicate to move red sanders logs overseas. The container was stopped before it could be loaded onto a vessel, and its examination continued until Tuesday.
Officials found high-grade red sanders logs concealed alongside a small quantity of the declared paper laminate cargo and gravel stones. The red sanders and the cover cargo were seized under the Customs Act, 1962, according to the report.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate allegedly misused the self-sealing facility available to manufacturer-exporters. The container had initially been arranged through an exporter before being diverted to a private godown. There, the declared paper laminate rolls were allegedly replaced with red sanders logs before the container was sent for export.
A subsequent search of the godown led to the recovery of the original paper laminate cargo, an industrial weighing scale and traces of red sanders. These items were cited as further evidence of the alleged method used to substitute the declared export material.
The three arrested people were described as key members of the syndicate involved in the operation. They were arrested under the Customs Act as the investigation continued. The seizure highlights the role of cargo verification and container controls at Chennai Port, where an incorrectly declared consignment had allegedly progressed towards export before being intercepted.
Red sanders, scientifically known as Pterocarpus santalinus, is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Its export from India is prohibited under the Foreign Trade Policy. The DRI investigation and further legal proceedings will determine the wider network involved in the alleged smuggling attempt.
