The teak wood smugglers of Nani Behiwad and Moti Behiwad villages on the Mahrashtra border were carrying teak wood in 60 tarapas or boats. 48 of these have have been seized by the forest department, along with 25 cubic metres of teak worth Rs 6 lakhs, the biggest seizure of the year, said DFO U D Singh. The forest officials and the police, were, however, unable to catch the smugglers.

The raids followed a tip-off that some villagers would smuggle teak across the Paar river. The DFO had set up a check post in Dhamani village, 16 kms from Dharampur aluka.

``We had been keeping a watch since August 5. On Saturday afternoon, when the forest guards on duty saw the 60 boats carrying teak wood, they tried to intercept them near Dhamani village. The smugglers, who were armed with stones, started pelting stones, injuring some forest guards.'' said the DFO.

Initially, there were only two police constables, but later a 70-strong police force was called. However, no one could be nabbed, but ``We have identified 20-odd notorious smugglers against whom police cases have been registered'', Singh said.

The modus operandi of the smugglers is simple -- to bring teak wood from Dharampur forest during the monsoon, when the Paar river is in spate, using the water stream to transport wood, and keep them in their houses to sell later.