The Forest Department officials unearthed a major dump of Red Sanders. The sleuths of the department in Kadapa found the dump which is initially estimated at Rs.3 Cr worth. The dump was found on a tip off in the early hours of the day. The dump was located in the Ramapuram village in the Kalasa mandal of the district. The logs dumped to be smuggled were seized by the officials. The officials have intensified their searches on this illegal trade and almost on a daily basis are getting holds of the miscreants. In spite of the severe combing operations the miscreants are thriving on their skills for smuggling the logs.

In recent times poaching mafia has been hiring naive woodcutters from Tamil Nadu and bringing them in vehicles secretly and leaving them in forest areas. Then these wood cutters would fell precious timber, load them on to trucks at specified points and depart. It is learnt that each wood cutter is paid `200 per kg of red sander. `We are making every effort to eradicate poaching of red sanders and save our precious forests,’ say officials.