Chamarajanagar: Two persons were arrested and sandalwood logs seized from them by the forest department officials during a surprise raid.
Murugan (21), a resident of Adinakanive and 70-year-old Subbamma of Bhimanakadu village on the edge of Bandipur National Reserve were nabbed by the forest department officials during a raid on the residence of Subbamma. The old woman was arrested six months ago in connection with ivory smuggling but had not given up on thieving which surprised the raid squad.
The duo use to remove bark and extract the trunk to further divide it into small pieces. Smugglers from Kerala used to buy such pieces from the duo to trade it later in the market at premium prices. During one such attempt, Murugan was trapped by forest officials when he was trying to reach Subbamma’s residence to strike a deal with the Kerala traders.
Officials seized the sandalwood pieces and produced the duo in the court which remanded them to judicial custody.
