Paralakhemundi: A huge amount of red sandalwood valued at over Rs 15,00,000 was recovered during a raid from an abandoned house near Bhimpur village under Garabandh police limits in Gajapati district Sunday.
The raid was conducted jointly by police and forest department officials.
Acting on a tip-off about red sandalwood logs being kept somewhere near Bhimpur, a special team comprising of police and forest department officials was formed and a blueprint for the raid was prepared, a police source said.
The team conducted the raid at the place in wee hours of Sunday and recovered sandalwood logs weighing 6.6 quintals from an abandoned house. The market value of the recovered high-in-demand logs has been pegged at Rs 15,00,000.
A detailed probe is underway to trace out the racket. While the police suspect a well-knit intra-state sandalwood smugglers’ involvement in the case, they are yet to arrest anyone in this connection.
PNN