BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 21st June 2025: Officials of the Forest department in North district intercepted a large cache of teak wood during a raid on the Kurti-Tarakpur main road in the Rajnagar area of Dharmanagar subdivision.
The operation, conducted on the basis of a confidential tip-off, was led by Joint Officer Nabaron De of the Dharmanagar subdivision forest department. He was joined by ranger Supriyo Debnath, Churaibari forest beat in-charge Ashutosh Malakar, Lalchhara beat in-charge Abhijit Das, and other forest personnel.
“Based on the information we received, we conducted a swift raid and recovered teak wood logs of varying sizes, some up to 70 feet long. The market value of the seized timber is estimated to be around Rs 1 lakh,” said Joint Officer De.
Forest department sources revealed that the timber had been illegally collected from multiple locations and hidden in a remote spot, likely with the intention of smuggling it across state lines into Assam. “Preliminary investigation suggests the teak was extracted from a reserved forest area. We suspect that it was being stored in preparation for transport to Assam,” De added.
Although no arrests have been made so far, authorities have registered a case under the Forest Act and launched a detailed investigation to identify those involved.
“We remain on high alert to curb such illegal activities. Our department will continue to intensify surveillance and take strict action against timber smuggling operations,” said ranger Debnath.
