Kochi: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials in Kochi seized 13.5 tonnes of red sanders in
Vallarpadam
International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) on Wednesday afternoon. The ship, carrying the container with red sanders reached Kochi on Wednesday from
Kattupalli
port in
Tamil Nadu. It was on its way to
Jebel Ali Port
in Dubai.
According to officials, they seized the red sanders following a tip off from Chennai officials. No arrest has been made in the case. The ship reached Kochi via
Thoothukudi
. “The container in the vessel, SSL Bharath was booked from Chennai by a company named Hallmark exports to ship to Dubai. They booked it for transporting nuts and bolts to a company in Dubai. The seized product is expected to fetch Rs 6 crore in the international market,” said the official.
DRI sources have said the red sanders have been cultivated only in Andhra Pradesh and it is being illegally transported to Hong Kong and China. It is used for medicinal, cosmetic purposes and for making idols.
The vessel left Vallarpadam on Wednesday itself after loading and unloading products. The officials had seized the same quantity of red sanders from ICTT in the last week of October.
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