A special team of the Coimbatore city police on Monday seized 1,051 kg of sandalwood at Attur near Salem. The consignment, smuggled from Malappuram in Kerala to Tamil Nadu, was seized from a truck laden with briquettes.
Assistant Commissioner of Police S. Karikal Pari Shankar said that the truck driver, T.K. Manojkumar of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, did not stop when the police signalled him for vehicle check at Vellalore Pirivu on Salem – Kochi highway in the early hours of Monday.
As the vehicle sped away, the police team headed by Sub-Inspector Jecis Udhayaraj traced its route and followed it. The police intercepted the vehicle at Attur near Salem. On checking, sandalwood wrapped in 57 gunny bags was found hidden in a secret chamber close to the driver’s cabin. The remaining portion of the truck was filled with gunny bags containing briquettes.
