Chamba forest officials bust international maple knot wood

The Newz Radar

CHAMBA: The forest officials of Chamba division in Himachal Pradesh claim to have busted the first international maple knot wood smuggling racket in India and have arrested 15 persons from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur in this connection.

A team of forest officials from Chamba conducted a raid in Saharanpur, uncovering an illicit factory. The factory’s owner and workers were allegedly caught red-handed along with smuggled wood and brought to Chamba.

Cash totalling Rs 7.5 lakh, along with Chinese, Japanese, and Nepalese currencies, as well as equipment used for tree cutting, were seized from the accused. The forest team comprised 18 members, resulting in the arrest of 15 persons, including 14 Nepali nationals and one local resident of Chamba.

Chamba Divisional Forest Officer Kritagya Kumar disclosed that during a routine vehicle inspection on February 26 along the Chamba-Saho road, officials at the forest checkpoint recovered 160 maple knots and a power saw cutter.

Two Nepali nationals, including the vehicle driver, were apprehended in connection with the incident. Subsequent interrogations revealed the involvement of more persons in the smuggling operation, who were residing in a hotel in Chamba. Acting on this information, the Forest Department team conducted a raid at the hotel, resulting in the arrest of eight persons. Further investigations revealed links to Saharanpur.

On March 7, a team of 18 Forest Department personnel was dispatched to Saharanpur where, with the assistance of the Uttar Pradesh Police and Forest Department, an illegal company manufacturing bowls from maple knots was identified and raided on around 4.30 am on March 8. This operation exposed a large-scale maple knot smuggling ring, with a total of 1,490 maple knots seized thus far.

Instead of filing an FIR, the Forest Department opted to conduct an internal investigation first. The Chamba DFO stated that investigations were underway and more arrests were expected.