3 more held in red sandalwood smuggling case

Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch arrested three more individuals in connection with the smuggling of red sandalwood. Among those arrested was the owner of the container truck from which 11 tonnes of red sandalwood were seized on March 2 at the Urse toll plaza near Talegaon Dabhade. "During the interrogation of those arrested earlier, names of three more were revealed," said crime branch senior inspector Dhamal.The arrested trio includes Deepal Salve (42), owner of the container truck from Parner in Ahilyanagar district, along with his two accomplices, Shrikant Bhilare (38) and Indrawan Mane (34), both residents of New Mumbai. Red sandalwood had been cut from various parts of Karnataka and other southern states. The value is estimated at Rs8.61 crore.