18 arrested for red sanders theft from warehouse

As many as 18 people were arrested today for their alleged involvement in the recent theft of red sanders from the Inland Container Depot in Irugur here, police said.
About 8.5 tonnes of red sanders, seized and kept by Directorate of Revenue intelligence (DRI), in the depot, were found stolen on the midnight of April 24, after the watchman was assaulted.
Investigation revealed that notorious sandalwood smuggler Punniyamurthy along with a 20-member armed gang entered the depot and threatened and forced a truck driver to break open a container, in which the sanders were kept, Commissioner of Police A K Vishwanathan told reporters here.

The gang then loaded the logs into three lorries and fled the scene, he said, adding six special team were formed to crack the case.
After investigation at various places, including Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, police zeroed in on Punniyamurthy in Vadavalli in the city. His son, a jail bird, had tipped off about the presence of red sanders in the depot, Vishwanathan said.
Police, during a vehicle check, seized six tonnes of sanders, worth about Rs 3 crore, while being taken to Kerala in two lorries this morning and arrested 12 persons in the vehicles and seized Rs 18 lakh.

On their information, another six were arrested from various places in the city, Vishwanathan said.