Kingpin of interstate gang of khairwood smugglers held in Himachal

The kingpin of an interstate gang of khair wood smugglers was arrested in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district today, police said.

Sirmaur Superintendent of Police Rohit Malpani told PTI that Kamil was arrested after the interrogation of gang members -- Shamshad, Lali and Akram.

The three were arrested about a week ago by a team of special investigative unit (SIU) of Nahan with 226 logs of khair wood, whose market value was over Rs 4.5 crore, he added.

As per their modus operandi, the gang members used to steal wood from forests areas, hire pickup-vehicles and sell them out of the state, he added.

"Kamil was the kingpin of the gang. Till now only the small peddlers had been arrested. Further investigations into the case are on," Malpani said.