Red Sanders: For representative purpose only. VELLORE, SEPTEMBER 9: Alert forest department officials arrested a five-member gang and remanded them for cutting red sanders in Mordhana Reserve Forest at Pernambut, in Vellore district. M Munusamy, 27, C Murugan, 32, G Sekar, 35, V Logan, 32, and M Ayyasamy, 35, of Bodiyappanur all first time offenders were arrested near Mordhana, on 7 September, according to forest department officials. They sneaked into Kokalur beat in the Mordhana forest and axed five red sanders trees, aged about 25 years. During a routine check around 4am on Tuesday the forest department personnel found the gang cutting the trees. But they abandoned the logs and escaped. 10 logs, weighing 662kg were seized, said forest department officials. Forest ranger Krishnamurthy said, “We stepped up our surveillance in the forest area and we managed to arrest them when they returned to retrieve the logs”. Those arrested were first-time offenders. Officers investigating the case said, forest personnel were trying to identify the kingpin.]]>