BSF seized 8,000 kg sandalwood worth Rs 24 crore in West Tripura

TRIPURA: Border Security Force (BSF) seized at least 8,000 kg of sandalwood worth Rs 24 crore from Arundhutinagar Industrial Estate area in a joint operation led by BSF, Tripura forest department, police and civil administration.

Speaking with media, Shakti Kant Singh, the West Tripura district forest officer said that they received some information from the BSF suspecting something illegal was stored inside a room in the Arundhutinagar Industrial Estate area.

“We did a joint operation and the police were also called so that the law and order situation in the area remains under control. When we went inside along with Sadar deputy collector, we saw a room full of sandalwood. We will check whether it’s legal after the seizure,” Singh said.

“Prima facie, it has been found to be illegal. Around 8,000 kg of sandalwood worth over Rs 10 crore was seized,” Singh added.

He also informed that nobody has come forward with legal papers to claim the seized items and said that after the test if the sandalwood is found to be premium quality, it can worth up to Rs 24 crore.

The test will be processed in the lab with other official works and only after that, the officials can get more details of the seizure.

According to media reports BSF DIG, Ashok Kumar Yadav said that they had some specific information about the Estate area where doors were locked always. After entering the shop, they found a room full of sandalwood.

The BSF has been guarding 557 km of the International border including Bangladesh in Tripura and they made huge efforts to stop illegal trading of items.