Red sandalwood smugglers now armed with acid bombs

Hyderabad, Oct 6: The red sandalwood smugglers operating between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have stepped up their aggression.

For the first time the AP police has found that the red sandalwood smugglers were armed with acid bottles or acid bombs and were ready to hurl it at the police in case of an encounter.

The arrest of 12 red sandalwood smugglers on Sunday night and their subsequent interrogation has revealed that newer plans were being deviced to outsmart the police.

The Chittoor police probing the case has found that the smugglers were told to be more aggressive in their approach if they were encountered by the police.

Each one of them was armed with acid bottles and instructed to hurl it at the police. However none of the police personnel were harmed in the recent raid and the smugglers were overpowered.

New weapons

The interrogation of the 12 persons has revealed that it has now become mandatory for them to carry with them acid bottles.

They told the police that their bosses have instructed them not to hesitate and throw acid on the cops.

In addition to the acid bottles, the smugglers were also carrying with them stones with an intention of attacking the police party.

This new strategy seems to have been devised after a recent encounter that resulted in the death of several red sandalwood smugglers.

Moreover the AP police have been making headway in their fight against these smugglers.

Recently in Delhi, the AP police picked up a man who is considered to be the mastermind of the racket and was responsible for moving the loot out of India.

The AP police say in the days to come there is bound to be more aggression on part of the smugglers. We need to be prepared at all times as this battle is an extremely tough one.

We have inflicted a lot of loss on their illegal venture and with the demand for red sandalwood high in the international market, we expect that they may get more aggressive.

The arrest of the 12 persons also included one smuggler by the name Mohan.

The police were on the lookout for Mohan since 2012.

He alone has orchestrated the smuggling of 100 tonnes of red sandalwood since 2012. In this context his arrest is a major breakthrough, the AP police say.

OneIndia News