The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Monday seized 14.63 metric tonnes of sandalwood worth Rs 11.70 crore from the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Ahmedabad that was being passed off as “assorted toiletries” for export.

The export of sandalwood is prohibited and the tree is in high demand for use in cosmetics and medicines. Investigations have revealed the sandalwood logs were meant to be exported to Sharjah in UAE, the DRI said in a press statement.

DRI officials acted on an intelligence report that a shipping container kept at ICD Sabarmati contains red sander logs, which, to dodge the authorities, the exporter had declared as "assorted toiletries."

When DRI officials passed a scanning device over the container it revealed the goods were not toiletries but logs. 

There were over 800 logs of red sandalwood, in the container which have been seized under the Customs Act.

Further investigations in the case are in progress.

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