Ahmedabad: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday seized 11.7 tones of red sandalwood with an estimated international value of Rs 5.85 crore at the Mundra Port in Gujarat. As informed by the officials, the sandalwood was being smuggled out of the country hidden in tractor parts. The investigation that led to this confiscation was launched by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Wednesday evening after growing suspicious over a container bound for export to Malaysia.
The suspicions regarding the smuggle stemmed from some inputs received by the team anonymously, informed the officials. The said container was being shipped as a carrier of tractor parts, but after being investigated, the team's suspicions bore results as expected. The shipment was reportedly launched from Noida and was to be exported to Malaysia, but the DRI seized it midway.
The red sandalwood trees are found in large numbers in the South Eastern Ghats of India and are valued at high prices, especially because the cutting down of these trees and its sale is prohibited. However, the cultural significance this sandalwood holds in China attracts a lot of demand from China, catalyzing illegal smuggling.
Earlier too, the Gandhidham DRI had seized Rs 6 crore worth of red sandalwood being exported to Hong Kong from the exporter's container in All Cargo CFS at Mundra Port. In the action taken by Gandhidham DRI, a total quantity of 12 to 13 tons of blood sandalwood was expedited in which Bholi Export Delhi was named as the exporter.
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