The export of Red Sanders wood is prohibited by law. (Representational)
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized nine tonnes of red sanders logs worth Rs 4.52 crore in the international market from a shipment at Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai and arrested one person, an official statement said Thursday.
According to the DRI statement, acting on a tip-off that Red Sanders were being attempted to be exported to Malaysia via Nhava Sheva, the container was identified and examined.
"In the export documents, the goods had been declared as 648 cartons of polyester yarn. On examination of the consignment, 9,040 kilograms of wooden logs of different sizes, appearing to be Red Sander logs, having an illicit international value of about Rs 4,52,00,000, were found concealed with draw textured yarn of polyester (mix colour) and rice bags," the DRI said in the statement.
The export of Red Sanders wood, the demand for which is high in countries like China and Japan for use in furniture and in traditional Asian medicine, is prohibited by law.