The foresters of Sarugara range of Baikunthapur forest division seized illegal timber worth around Rs 50 lakh from NH27, on the outskirts of Siliguri, on Saturday.
“Our team intercepted a truck ferrying bamboo at Ghoshpukur and took it to the forest range office. As we searched it, we recovered Burmese teak concealed under piles of bamboo. The driver has been arrested,” said a forest official. “We are keeping a close watch across north Bengal as Burmese teak is available in the forests of Northeast. We suspect Siliguri is being used as a corridor to smuggle the timber to other parts of the country.”
Sources said Burmese teak is used to make costly furniture and has a huge demand in India and in West Asia. The consignment was en route to Rajasthan from Manipur.
In another incident, a BSF team seized three crystal jars containing suspected cobra venom from Dongi village in South Dinajpur. “The cost of the seized venom is around Rs 57 crore in the international grey market,” said a source.
