Sandalwood trees smuggled from Sacon campus

Coimbatore: Two sandalwood trees were smuggled from the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (Sacon) at Anaikatti on Thursday morning.

A gang had entered the Sacon premises to cut down the trees. Thadagam police sub-inspector Arumugam reached the spot after a private security guard informed him about the incident.

Five sandalwood trees were smuggled from the campus in July and August, police sources said.

Sacon authorities are not certain about the exact number of sandalwood trees on the 54-hectare campus, director K Sankar said. They requested forest range officer Siva to deploy anti-poaching watchers on the campus during the night hours for patrolling to prevent sandalwood smuggling.

It is easy for the smugglers to enter the campus as it lacks compound wall, an officer with the Thadagam police station said.

Several sandalwood smuggling incidents were reported from Saibaba Colony and Ram Nagar in the city in the last few months. The city police had arrested some people, who hailed from Salem, Vellore and Thiruvannamalai in connection with the incidents. Preliminary inquiry revealed that the gang members were earlier operating in Andhra Pradesh. Following strict against sandalwood smugglers, they had shifted to Coimbatore.

Coimbatore urban and rural areas have a lot of sandalwood trees, a forest department official said.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.