Rs 12 cr red sandalwood seized from Palghar farmhouse; hunt on for smugglers

Palghar, Sep 21 (PTI) The forest department has unearthed a massive stock of red sandalwood valued at nearly Rs 12 crore at a farmhouse in Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials said on Sunday.

Preliminary investigation suggested the sandalwood was smuggled into Maharashtra from some southern states, they said.

Based on intelligence inputs, the forest personnel conducted a raid at an abandoned farmhouse at Sakhre village in Palghar taluka's Dahisar forest area on the night of September 18, an official said.

During the raid, the team recovered around 200 bundles of red sandalwood hidden inside the premises, he said.

The value of the seized stock is estimated to be more than Rs 12 crore in the illicit market, the official said.

"This is one of the biggest seizures in Palghar in recent years. The seized red sandalwood is protected under the Forest Act, and its smuggling is strictly prohibited. A case has been registered, and we are actively searching for those behind the racket," a senior forest official said.

Investigators believe the consignment was meant to be transported abroad through illegal channels, he said.

A name, "Pushpa", emerged during the probe, the official said, adding it could point to a local handler or a code name used by the smuggling network.

Surveillance has been stepped up in vulnerable forest pockets of the district, he said. PTI COR GK