Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh’s Red Sanders—an endangered tree species endemic to forests in the Chittoor-Kadapa-Nellore stretch—have been at the centre of massive smuggling operations for decades.
Over 20 years ago, the mafias used rickety lorries and battered vans to smuggle the precious wood out of Andhra Pradesh’s forests—also portrayed in the Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa, which was set around the year 2000.
Between 2014 and 2024, 4,202 such vehicles—including cars of brands like BMW, Toyota and Audi were seized from smugglers, according to the state forest department.
However, two such cars—both BMWs—which were seized during Chandrababu Naidu’s previous stint as the chief minister, and allotted to government officials then, were found to have “gone missing” once the current administration took over, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to seek a report in November.
It was eventually found that one of them was being used in Hyderabad by the wife of a top civil servant, who had previously used it, while the other one is still ‘untraceable’.
Senior forest department officials told ThePrint that one of the BMW cars, seized from smugglers in Putturu range, was allotted in February 2015 in the name of then minister for forests and environment, Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy’s additional private secretary.
Another BMW car linked to a 2017 smuggling crime in Railway Koduru was allotted to then principal secretary (forests) G. Anantha Ramu. In June 2019, Ramu was succeeded by Neerabh Kumar Prasad—the current chief secretary.
While two other senior IAS officers also held the position for shorter durations, Prasad was appointed the principal secretary (forests) again in February 2022. He later became special chief secretary and continued in the position until June 2024, when he was named the chief secretary by Naidu.
Incidentally, Ramu, back in the forest department as special chief secretary in mid-July, could not find the car in use with his office.
Intrigued by the disappearance, Deputy CM Kalyan, who also holds the forests and environment portfolio, sought a report from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force, Chiranjiv Choudhary, who then wrote to Special Chief Secretary Ramu.
Upon inquiry, it was found that the BMW allotted to the department head was being used in Hyderabad by the wife of one of the officers, who had earlier used the car.
The matter went on to become a subject of murmurs and discussion at the Aranya Bhavan (Andhra Pradesh forest department’s headquarters in Mangalagiri) and the state secretariat in Velagapudi, a few kilometers away. Soon after, the car was returned to the PCCF/Aranya Bhavan, officials said.
“The whereabouts of the BMW allotted to the minister’s additional private secretary are still unknown,” PCCF Choudhary told ThePrint Sunday.
Another senior official said there is a BMW car lying in a yard in Rajahmundry. “I am not sure if it is the same or a different one,” he said.
However, officials say, some more such vehicles confiscated from smugglers have been untraceable for some time now, including one Toyota Innova car, which was reportedly allotted to Neerabh Prasad in July 2023, when he was with the forest department as the special chief secretary.
“It must be somewhere within the department, in use or worn out and kept aside. We will verify,” a top official said.
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Seized cars in use by forest department
Almost all the cars being used by over 400 forest department officials—from range officers to department heads—are those confiscated from the Red Sanders mafia, which were being used to transport relatively smaller quantities of logs or pilot the contraband in other vehicles.
“Some smugglers think it’s a smart idea as police or forest officials might hesitate to stop and check the luxury cars. But we too are aware of the high stakes business and the extent they go to in pursuit of huge profits,” a range officer told ThePrint.
According to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act 1967, forest officials said, after following legal-judicial processes, they can confiscate the material elements connected to the offence, like the vehicles, apart from the logs.
“Since we are short on government funds to purchase vehicles, and as these cars would be dumped somewhere and rendered useless otherwise, we allot them to our officers. The Innova Crysta I am using now was also confiscated from the Red Sanders smugglers,” Choudhary told ThePrint.
There are usually no claims made for the return of these cars, and as many of the vehicles used for smuggling are stolen and given fake number plates or chassis numbers, reclaiming the vehicle becomes difficult for the original and innocent owners.
“Of course, if the missing complaint was lodged by the car owner before the crime took place, we do return the vehicle confirming the provided evidence,” said one official.
While the usable ones are allotted to officers, the worn-down and wobbly confiscated cars are sold off in auctions, sometimes even as scrap.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)