Red sandalwood worth around Rs. 400 lakhs was seized by authorities in Mizoram, northeast India, while it was being smuggled from India to China through Burma on October 31.
Personnel of the Champhai District Forest Department seized 90 quintals of red sandalwood being transported in a truck between Melbuk and Mualkawi villages of Champhai District near the No.2 Indo-Burma Trade Road at around 11 am.
A Mizoram newspaper reported that the red sandalwood was transported from India’s Andhra Pradesh sand carried through Vairengte via Kolassib Road to Mizoram. The sandalwood was transferred to another truck in Rangvamual village near Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, to be carried to the Indo-Burma border.
The newspaper added that the sandalwood smugglers were suspected to belong to a group from different places operating in India.
Red sandalwood is rare and precious. Its export and sale is strictly prohibited by the Indian government.
Red sandalwood grows in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Manipur.
The international price of sandalwood is estimated to be Rs. 5000 per kilogram. The price of 90 quintals of sandalwood is estimated to be around Rs 450 lakhs on the black market. Local traders believe that the seized sandalwood was meant to be taken to China through Burma.
Khonumthung News
