Life imitated cinema in Bengaluru when police uncovered a sandalwood smuggling operation straight out of Pushpa: The Rise.
Acting on a routine vehicle check near the city outskirts, Siddapura police intercepted a mini goods truck seemingly carrying onions, only to find 18 bundles of freshly cut sandalwood logs weighing around 750 kilograms hidden beneath the sacks.
Four men from Andhra Pradesh – Sheik Abdul Kalam, Sheik Sharukh, Parameshwara, and Ram Bhupal, were arrested in connection with the case.
Police later found that the consignment was supplied by a man named Siraj from Kurnool and was headed for a smuggler in Bengaluru.
Officers suspect the gang is part of a larger cross-border sandalwood network using goods vehicles as cover.
The accused have been booked under the Karnataka Forest Act and Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
