Bagdogra, 27th December: The forest department foiled an attempt to smuggle sal timber concealed under jute sacks in a pickup van at the Gossainpur Forest Check Post under Bagdogra forest range.
Reportedly, acting on a tip-off received on Saturday, forest officials intercepted the vehicle and recovered illegally sourced sal wood worth around Rs 3 lakh.
Two persons, identified as Astar Ali and Tofijul Mohammad, were arrested in connection with the incident. According to forest department sources, the timber was being transported from the Matigara New Chamta area with the intention of smuggling it into Bihar. To evade detection, the smugglers had carefully covered the wood with empty jute sacks inside the vehicle.
Bagdogra forest range officer Ratan Tarafdar said that specific intelligence inputs had been received regarding preparations for illegal timber smuggling. Based on this information, a special team conducted the operation, leading to the successful seizure of the timber along with the vehicle used for transportation.
An investigation has been initiated to identify and trace other members of the timber smuggling racket involved in the operation.