Wakad Police Seize Red Sandalwood Worth Rs 6.52 Crore, Five Persons With International Links Arrested
Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 17th May 2021:The officials from Wakad police station falling under the Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate have arrested five persons and seized red sandalwood worth Rs 6.52 crore.
Currently, four of their accomplices are absconding and police suspect a Dubai connection in the case. The cops have seized a truck loaded with 6.420 tonnes of red sandalwood, a car, and a mobile phone. A total of 207 red sandalwood logs measuring five to six feet in length were found in the truck.
The arrested persons have been identified as Nileda Vilas Dherange (35) of Pipalgaon Depa in Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar district, MA Salim (43) of Sagar taluka in Shimoga district of Karnataka, Vinod Prakash Fernandes (45) of Navi Mumbai, Zakir Hussain Abdul Rahman Shaikh (50) of Trombay in Mumbai, and Mintobhai alias Nirmal Singh Manjit Singh Gill (36) of Navi Mumbai.
According to Police Commissioner Krishna Prakash, Police Naik Vandu Gire and Constable Rajendra Kale were patrolling the area falling under the Wakad police station on the night of May 12. At Vision Mall in Tathawade, they saw a white Maruti 800 car without a front number plate and a partially broken rear number plate.
“Three men were sitting inside the car, while two others were standing there. When the policemen questioned them, two persons fled, while Dherange, Salim, and Fernandes were caught. During interrogation, they gave vague answers. However, while examining Dherange’s mobile phone later, it was discovered that he had shared a photo of a truck filled with red sandalwood on WhatsApp. Later, they revealed that the truck was parked opposite Neelkamal Hotel in Tathawade. Accordingly, the truck was seized,” Police Commissioner Krishna Prakash said.
