KADAPA: The forest officials in a pre-dawn raid on Sunday unearthed a huge red sanders dump, said to be worth over Rs 10 crore, on the outskirts of Uppalapalle of Railway Kodur mandal in Kadapa district. On spotting the officials, around 50 loggers gave them the slip under the cover of darkness.
The Balapalle range forest squad, on a tip-off reached the spot close to Seshachalam hills and found over 85 high-quality logs. The loggers had dumped those and were awaiting payment from middlemen when the raid took place.
The officials said the loggers from Tamil Nadu managed to sneak into the forests after entering Kadapa district from Bengaluru side, avoiding the usual route crisscrossing the eastern flank of Seshachalam hills. Red sanders Anti-smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) DSP Maheswara Raju confirmed the seizure and said that additional forces had been deployed to intensify combing operations.
