A man named Yasin Inayithulla tried to smuggle red sandalwood in his truck in the style of Allu Arjun starrer Pushpa but was detained by the Police. He is a truck driver and was en route from the Karnataka-Andhra border to Maharashtra, he was transporting red sandalwood in his truck.
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The Maharashtra Police got him on the way, precisely at Gandhi Chowk, Meeraj Nagar, Sangli district. The sandalwood he was carrying was said to be valued at Rs. 2.45 crores.
Speaking about the incident, Sangli Superintendent of Police Dikshit Gedam said, “We had received confidential information about illegal transportation of sandalwood. Based on this tip-off, we launched a joint operation with the forest officials and carried out a raid at Zakat Nakka. During this raid, we seized one vehicle and arrested one accused. We found around 1 ton of sandalwood worth Rs 2.45 cr and the vehicle is worth Rs 10 lakhs. We had registered the case under IPC sections 379, 34 and various sections of the forest act have also been invoked.”
The Nellore police in January 2022, had apprehended an interstate gang involved in red sanders smuggling. The raid resulted in the arrest of 55 woodcutters and three smugglers. About 45 red sanders logs, a vehicle, 31 cellphones, 24 axes, and other red sander tree-chopping equipment were seized during the search.
Pushpa the rise, has been one of the biggest hits of the decade with the film crossing a 300 crore mark. It is based on the life of a person who rises from the rank of Coolie to the Don of the Red Sanders Mafia.
