The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) unearthed an international smuggling racket of red sanders with the arrest of the managing director of a Mumbai-based shipping company on Tuesday. Cops said they recovered red sanders worth Rs 3.20 crore on Monday, but in the past the cartel had smuggled more than 12 consignments from India to other countries worth Rs 48 crore.

Harshavardhan Hegde, managing director of M/s Emirates Shipping Agencies (India) Pvt Ltd, was arrested by the DRI for allegedly smuggling red sanders to Dubai. The DRI seized 7,800 metric tonnes of wooden logs purported to be red sanders worth Rs 3.20 crore.