Accused was working closely with the smugglers!
Andhra Pradesh police caught four Tamil Nadu government employees and 36 red sandalwood smugglers managed to give the police a slip.
On Thursday, February 10, The Task Force personnel were conducting vehicle checks at Pakalavaripalli toll plaza on the Puthalapattu-Naidupet national highway. Four Tamil Nadu state transport corporation employees were arrested for helping red sandalwood smugglers in smuggling.
Ismail (46) is the Vaniyambadi-Vellore driver, Jayashankar (46) is the Vaniyambadi-Vellore conductor, Govinda Swamy (45) is the Vaniyambadi-Vellore extra conductor and Tiruvannamalai Road Transport Corporation (RTC) mechanic, Gunasekharan, (46) were taken into custody for further interrogation.
The bus staff used to transport woodcutters from Tamilnadu to Andhra Pradesh at the behest of smugglers. They used to help them logistically as well.
According to police inspector Srinivasan, Gunasekharan was a lead in the smuggling of red sandalwood woodcutters. He was working closely with the smugglers Damodaran and Sekhar.
They were smuggling red sandalwood with the help of Tamil Nadu RTC staff. 28 school bags, 3 luggage bags and 8 plastic bags were seized from the Tamil Nadu RTC bus, and a case was registered against them. All the arrested persons were on remand too.
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