Forest officials said that stocks at the government depot were mostly sandalwood and red sanders that were seized from smugglers.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Unidentified persons have stolen around 1.75 tonnes of red sanders that is worth around ₹50 lakh at the Government Sandalwood Depot in Tirupattur town on Tuesday.
Forest officials said that it was during a routine inspection of stocks of wooden logs in the depot on July 18 that a team of forest officials found that 1.75 tonnes of red sanders were missing in one of the storehouses at the depot, which usually had around 100 tonnes of seized red sanders for many years.
Forest officials said that stocks at the government depot were mostly sandalwood and red sanders that were seized from smugglers during surprise checks in areas along Tamil Nadu – Andhra Pradesh border. The seized logs were used to make incense sticks.
Forest officials said that based on a complaint by Jothi Lingam who was in charge of the depot, a case was registered by Tirupattur Town police. A probe is under way.
Published – July 22, 2026 12:58 am IST
