The operation, announced by Superintendent of Police Shelke Nachiket Vishwanath, targeted three separate smuggling cases and involved teams from Mannur, Veeraballi and Khajipet police stations.
At Akepadu crossroads in Rajampeta mandal, Inspector Lingappa and Red Sanders Task Force Inspector C. Shankar Reddy stopped a container vehicle arriving from Tirupati. When police arrived, the occupants attempted to flee but were apprehended, and 42 logs were seized. The three accused were identified as Vadamanchi Murali, 26, of Renigunta; Palepu Manohar, 31, of Kodur; and Sunil Kumar, 29, of Churu district in Rajasthan.
In the Veeraballi limits, Inspector T. Sundupalli and Inspector A. Suresh Reddy observed a car parked near a forest area where persons were loading red‑sanders logs onto a waiting vehicle. One suspect, Syed Shahabuddin, 36, of Anekal, Karnataka, was arrested while others escaped. Police recovered eight logs, two mobile phones and a four‑wheeler from the site.
A third team led by Inspector K. Ramana Reddy of Khajipet intercepted two vehicles on the Khajipet‑Badvel road heading toward Nagasanipalle. The raid resulted in the arrest of five men—Idigattu Srinivasulu, 40; Idigattu Nagendra, 38; Idigattu Subbarayudu, 36; Battala Venkata Subbaiah, 35; and Orsu Chandra, 30—all from Mydukur. Officers seized 37 logs and the two vehicles.
The SP warned that non‑bailable cases would be filed wherever applicable and that the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking (PD) Act would be invoked against habitual offenders, underscoring the district’s zero‑tolerance stance on illegal red‑sanders trade.