New Delhi, May 30 (PTI) Revenue intelligence officers have seized 14.63 MT of Red Sanders valued at Rs 11.70 crore from an export-bound consignment, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

DRI officers had developed intelligence that Red Sanders logs were concealed in an export consignment declared to contain "assorted toiletries", for being smuggled out of the country.

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Accordingly, Operation Rakth Chandan was launched and close surveillance was kept on the suspect export consignment.

“Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has recovered 14.63 MT of Red Sanders, estimated at Rs 11.70 crore in the international market, from a consignment that was stuffed at ICD Sabarmati, and which was to be exported to Sharjah, UAE,” it said in a statement.

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The suspect container was scanned through a 'container scanning device' and examination by DRI revealed that it was fully stuffed with wooden logs of red colour that appeared to be Red Sandalwood.

On de-stuffing, 840 wooden logs, having total weight of 14.63 MT, were found in the container.

"Preliminary examination of the wooden logs by Range Forest Officers confirmed that the logs are of Red Sandalwood, which is prohibited for export. Hence, the same were seized under provisions of Customs Act, 1962. Further investigation regarding domestic movement of the goods, their transportation and the exporter concerned is in progress,” the statement said.

The export of Red Sanders from India is prohibited as per the Foreign Trade Policy.

The rich hue and therapeutic properties of red sanders are responsible for its high demand across Asia, particularly China, for use in cosmetics, medicinal products and high-end furniture/woodcraft.

In the fiscal years 2021-22 and 2020-21, during its operations across the country, DRI seized 95 and 96 MT of Red Sanders respectively, estimated at over Rs. 150 crore in the international market.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)