Licence-Based Red Sanders Export Racket Busted

Tirupati: The arrest of a red sandpaper smuggler in Tirupati has exposed an organized network that allegedly exported illegally cut wood from Seshachalam forests by disguising it as legal through licenses and official documents.

Tirupati district police chief and RSASTF chief L. Subba Rayudu said on Saturday that the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) arrested Muhammad Muzammil (38) from Mysuru, Karnataka, who allegedly devised a systematic method to convert illegal forest produce into export consignments.

Addressing a press conference, Rayudu said red sandwood logs, which were illegally cut and transported by local smugglers, were purchased at low prices and presented as being purchased from farmers. Official permits were then obtained to provide legal protection for the stocks before they were exported.

According to the police, Muzammil was procuring the red sanders through known smugglers from Karnataka, including Syed Abdul Latheef alias Settu or Settu Bhai and Wajeeb. Ravi, a Bengaluru-based middleman, allegedly managed the documentation and permits, after which the shipments were exported to China, earning high profits.

Muzammil, an accused in many red sander cases in old Chittoor district, had been on the run for several years. Acting on specific intelligence, RSASTF teams arrested him from Tanapalli Cross on Chittoor-Naidupeta road in Tirupati rural mandal in connection with a case registered with RSASTF police station (Crime No. 60 of 2025).

The operation was carried out under the supervision of RSASTF SP P. Srinivas and additionally SP J. Kulashekhar supervised the field teams.

Rayudu said further investigation will focus on the role of a Chinese national identified as Jojo and Xiamen TIANGONGFANG TRADE CO. LTD and its India-based representative, Michael, will focus on its role in facilitating overseas exports, he said.

Special teams will continue their efforts to track down illegal smugglers operating under the guise of licences, the official said. Strengthened trial monitoring has resulted in convictions in 27 of 31 cases tried since January last year, with a conviction rate of 87 percent, he added.