Sleuths of the red sanders task force nabbed two suspected smuggling operatives from Tamil Nadu, and seized 70 red sanders logs and two SUVs at NCC fire-range zone at the foot of Tirumala hills near Alipiri at Tirupati in the early hours of Friday.
The arrest and seizures was preceded by a minor clash between the smuggling operatives and the combing party.
According to the task force SP Ravi Shankar, the combing party was patrolling the foothills zone, when it came across a large group of trespassers, carrying logs for loading into the waiting vehicles at a road point.
Seeing the policemen, the operatives reportedly started pelting stones at them, while running away from the spot. The combing party nabbed two persons, while others fled. In the melee, the SUVs were partially damaged in the stone throwing.
Later, the police seized the logs and shifted them to the Task Force police station at Kapilatheertham in Tirupati.
A case has been registered. Additional force was deployed in the Alipiri zone to flush out smuggling operatives from the forests.
