Red Sanders Smugglers Held Near Hyderabad 

Hyderabad: Three persons transporting red sanders worth lakhs of rupees in an auto were held by the police near Shamshabad on the city outskirts on Sunday.

The accused Dega Naresh, Veeraboina Pamuleti and Ramana were transporting 51 pieces of red sanders from Kurnool to Hyderabad in an auto. The police who were doing routine vehicle checking at the tollgate near Thondur on the Bangalore highway got suspicion as the vehicle was covered with a black plastic sheet and they found the contraband beneath the cover.

"The value of the wood would be in lakhs though we cannot estimate exactly at the moment," the Shamshabab inspector said.

On inquiry, the accused revealed that two persons named Mahendra and Prasad hired them to transport the pieces of wood asked them to call them once the vehicle reaches Hyderabad. When police tried the numbers, they were switched off. The accused and the contraband are in the police custody.