20 YEARS Yongers Also lured into Red Sanders Smuggling.

Police personnel attached to the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) have detained 84 men, hailing from Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts of Tamil Nadu, in Seshachalam reserve forest in Andhra Pradesh on suspicion that they were red sanders smugglers.

The task force invoked provisions of the Detention Act against the men for trying to sneak into the reserve forest in AP to allegedly fell and smuggle red sanders logs. "They will be released on station bail soon," said an official in the task force.

Acting on a tip-off, police conducted vehicle checks at Anjaneyapuram forest check post near Tirupati on Thursday night and stopped a truck for inspection. The truck's cargo area was covered with tarpaulin, and it appeared that the truck was carrying goods. But, on inspection, it was found that 84 men were travelling on the truck, under the cover of tarpaulin. The task force reportedly seized axes, sickles and rice bags from them. Police also seized the truck.

Since they had not committed any crime and were only on their way to the forest, the task force booked cases against them for planning to fell and smuggle trees.

Of the 84 men, 21 men are from Palayapalam village in Pungapattu Nadu panchayat in Jawadhu hills that falls in Tirupattur Taluk of Vellore district. "The men have been lured into red sanders smuggling by K Ravi, an agent from Palayapalam," said a retired government employee in the hill. He added that the state government and police had failed miserably in creating livelihood for the tribals and preventing the timber mafia from exploiting poverty of the men in the hills.

Police said they had decided to let the men go since they were arrested outside forest area and there was no evidence to link them to red sanders smuggling.

Graduates and college students were among the men on the truck. Youth as young as 19 and 20 years have been lured into red sanders smuggling with the promise of hefty payment. In a footage shared by the Andhra Pradesh police, a postgraduate student of the Government College in Tiruvannamalai, who was among the 84 men on the truck, is heard saying, "I was promised good money. But I was not aware that we were hired for illegal activities."