DRI Seizes Red Sanders Worth Rs 7.72 Crore at Chennai Port

Officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence have broken up a Chennai-based syndicate that was trying to ship red sanders logs to Malaysia. Acting on specific intelligence, the officers held back an export container at Chennai Port between 9 and 11 November 2026, before it could be loaded onto the vessel.

What the container held

On paper the consignment was 'Paper Laminate Rolls'. A detailed examination carried out on 9 and 10 November 2026 found 12.87 metric tonnes - roughly 13,000 kg - of high-grade red sanders logs hidden inside, kept alongside a small quantity of the declared goods and some gravel stones to make the load look right. The wood is valued at about Rs 7.72 crore. Both the red sanders and the cover cargo were seized under the Customs Act, 1962.

How the syndicate worked

The preliminary investigation points to misuse of the self-sealing facility that a manufacturer-exporter is allowed to use. The group booked an export consignment through that exporter, then took the container away to a private godown, pulled out the declared paper laminate rolls, packed the red sanders logs in their place and sent the container on for export. When officers searched the godown later, they recovered the original declared cargo, an industrial weighing scale and traces of red sanders - evidence that matched the method they had reconstructed. Three key members of the syndicate have been arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.

Why red sanders is protected

Red sanders, whose botanical name is Pterocarpus santalinus, is a protected species. It is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, and in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Its export out of India is prohibited under the Foreign Trade Policy, which is why the consignment had to be disguised as something else.

The wider point

The case shows how legitimate export channels and trade facilitation measures - meant to cut delays for honest exporters - can be turned to organised wildlife trafficking. The agency said it would keep taking apart such networks through intelligence-led enforcement to protect the country's biodiversity.