The operators or smugglers of the red sanders appear to be professionals, who have been in this business for long. The cargo was first loaded into a container truck bearing number TN 48C 7049 in Gudur. The red sanders logs were piled up in the rear portion of the container and the front side was stuffed with three layers of ice crates, giving the impression that some kind of perishable product was being transported.
In Visakhapatnam near Gokul Theatre, the logs were being shifted into a truck bearing number AP 16 TC 1116, for a further destination. “The operators were trying to place the logs in the bottom of the truck and camouflage it with bananas. It was during this operation that the Two Town night patrol got suspicious and seized both vehicles,” said DCP M. Srinivasulu. According to him, information was coming in trickles, as the smugglers seem to the operating in layer system.
The persons apprehended do not have much information of the higher layer. In such a layered operation, it is difficult to zero down or get information quickly.