Customs seize 40,000kg of red sanders
Manish Pachouly, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, February 16, 2012
The Nhava Sheva Customs foiled an attempt to smuggle 40,000kg of red sanders in three containers.
Red
sanders is rare wood protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Valued around Rs 4 crore, the smugglers had declared the consignment as
paperboard and shipped the same to Dubai evading the authorities.
Timely
information led officials to recall the containers before they could
reach the hands of syndicate members in Dubai. “The containers will
arrive in the next few days,” a senior Customs official said. The
smugglers had used a duplicate Central Excise department seal to avoid
checking by Customs officials.
The official said the smugglers
bring red sanders from the border of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to
the outskirts of Mumbai. The wood is then kept illegally in warehouses.
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