Archive · 13 Dec 2025
Two Sentenced for Red Sanders Smuggling
Two men, Vellaiyan Shivaji and Mohan Shankar, were caught smuggling red sanders, a special kind of wood, in 2017.
They were arrested in Tirupati district and taken to court.
The judge found them guilty and sentenced them to five years in jail and a fine of ₹3 lakh each.
The police hope this punishment will stop others from smuggling red sanders from protected forests.
The court and the police worked together to make sure the men were punished for their crime.
Two men, Vellaiyan Shivaji and Mohan Shankar, were sentenced to five years in jail for red sanders smuggling.
They were fined ₹3 lakh each by the Red Sanders Special Court in Tirupati.
The men were arrested in 2017 while transporting red sanders illegally in Tirupati district.
The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) led the operation that resulted in their arrest.
The court found the accused guilty based on evidence presented by Special Public Prosecutor Aluguri Amara Narayana.
- Who
- Vellaiyan Shivaji and Mohan Shankar
- What
- Sentenced for red sanders smuggling
- When
- Verdict delivered on Friday
- Where
- Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
- Why
- Arrested during a 2017 operation for illegal transportation of red sanders
- Convicts
- Vellaiyan Shivaji and Mohan Shankar
- Sentence
- 5 years imprisonment
- Fine
- ₹3 lakh each
- Case Number
- Crime No. 05/2017
- Location of Arrest
- Karakambadi beat, Tirupati district
- Task Force
- Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF)
- Judge
- Narasimha Murthy
- Prosecutor
- Aluguri Amara Narayana