India, July 13 -- The Pimpri Chinchwad police have arrested the prime accused in the red sandalwood smuggling case that was uncovered earlier this year.

The accused have been identified as Rajendra Vitthal Shinde, 43, from Vashi in Navi Mumbai and Tausif Riyaz Jamadar. The arrests were made on July 10 and 11 respectively.

On March 2, the Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch seized over 15 tonnes of red sandalwood on the expressway while it was being smuggled to Mumbai from Bengaluru in Karnataka.

The driver and container of the truck were arrested by the police. Police investigation revealed that the sandalwood was to be smuggled outside the country. The value of the seized red sandalwood is around Rs.9 crore.

Consequently, a case has been f...