New Delhi: In a successful operation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered 10.23 MT of Red Sanders or Red Sandalwood, estimated at Rs 6 crore in the international market, from an export consignment that was destined for Singapore.
Intelligence developed by DRI indicated that red sanders logs, concealed in an export consignment declared to contain “static convertor/rectifier and wire harness cable”, were in the process of being smuggled out of the country. Based on the said intelligence, the officers of DRI intercepted an export-bound container at ICD Palwal on September 16, 2022, which was also put on hold by the ICD Palwal Customs officers, having been informed as suspicious by the Custodian of the said ICD.
Examination of the said container by the DRI officers, along with the customs officers of ICD Palwal, led to the recovery of 10.23 MT of Red Sandalwood – an item mentioned in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The export of red sanders from India is prohibited/restricted, as per the Foreign Trade Policy.
The said container was in the process of being exported using fake documents of a Noida SEZ-based entity, following a similar Modus Operandi busted by DRI earlier.
A preliminary enquiry by the DRI has revealed that the documents used for the said export were fake and manipulated. Even the registration number of the truck, used for transport of the said container to the ICD Palwal, was manipulated. The recovered 10.23 MT of red sanders logs, valued at Rs 6 crore (approximately), along with the truck were seized under the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigations are in progress.
DRI stated it has made seizures of 110.26 MT of red sanders in eleven instances at different ICDs/ports, since November 2021.
– global bihari bureau
