Berhampur: Forest personnel on Tuesday arrested a sandalwood smuggler from Raikia in Kandhamal district. Around 150-kg sandalwood were seized from the accused, Siba Thakur, 34.
"Another two persons of the racket managed to escape from the spot when the raid was conducted," said divisional forest officer (Phulbani) P C Gogin on Wednesday.
Forest personnel suspected Thakur and the other two might be the members of a smuggling racket, which is involved in chopping the sandalwood tress in the district. Patrolling has been intensified in the area to nab the two, he said.
In the last one year, at least 15 sandalwood trees were chopped by the mafia in Phulbani forest division, he said. The sandalwood trees were chopped on the premises of residential quarters of the district collector, district court, police barrack, Ganesh and Narayani temples and some private landowners.
The DFO said the accused cut a sandal wood tree on a private land near Raikia. When Siba was cutting the tree log into pieces at the nearby Ganjuguda jungle, forest officials nabbed him, he said.
The accused gave conflicting answers about his name and address. "We will take him on remand to dig out the roots of the smuggling racket," the DFO said.
The sandalwood is highly in demand as it is used for making furniture, ornaments and sacred objects. The oil extracted from it is used in making medicine, perfume and in aromatherapy. The government has restricted its sale without licence, official sources said.