Smugglers, who export red sanders (a form of sandalwood) out of the country, have adopted a new modus operandi, which has left the customs officials at the Mumbai airport baffled.
According to the customs department, smugglers are now sending out blocks of wood, cut from logs, to evade customs officials. Until now, raw, uncut logs would be smuggled, which were easier to detect.
Red sanders is used to make musical instruments and expensive furniture. Officials have seized around 400 kg of the contraband since August, which is valued at around `5 lakh in the domestic market and `10 to `12 lakh in the international market, where the demand is higher.
The first such consignment weighing 100 kg was caught in mid-August and the spree continued for the next fortnight. Smugglers had booked slots on flights during the 15-day period, which led to consecutive seizures. “The contraband is usually declared as wooden pieces and furniture spare parts, which is why smugglers don’t arouse suspicion,” the official added.
Another senior official said, “These smugglers must have assumed we don’t know about the new modus operandi.”
***
4 held for assault, robbery
Age Correspondent
Mumbai, Oct. 19
Four persons were arrested on Thursday for allegedly assaulting and robbing a person of `5,000 at knifepoint in the Baman Daya Pada area at around 8 pm. The accused also attacked three other persons, including a woman whose clothes they allegedly tore off, when they tried to intervene. The robbery was over an argument that took place earlier in the day.
According to the police, Agaz Khan (27) was walking on the road near Premier Academy when Govind Teli (19), Prithvi alias Bablu Valmiki (20), Sandeep Chaudhary (19) and Mahesh Sailikar (24) accosted him and robbed him of his money. The quartet assaulted him with a wooden stick and a knife. Two others, Ziyauddin and Shafiuddin and a woman Dusma tried to intervene, but were also attacked with weapons and sustained minor injuries. The police has arrested the four accused.