Marayur: The police have arrested two more individuals in connection with the sandalwood smuggling case from the Marayur Government Family Health Centre premises, from Udumalpet in Tamil Nadu. The arrested are Ranjith G Nair (48), alias Miller Manu, a native of Kattakada, Thiruvananthapuram, and S Akshay (23) of Anthrakulam, Meppadi, Wayanad.

The arrests were made based on the statements of two previously detained suspects, Ajith Kumar (49) from Thiruvananthapuram and Mahesh (39) from Marayur, who were taken into custody on Tuesday. They told police that they had smuggled four pieces of sandalwood from Marayur and transported them to Munnar in an autorickshaw. There, they handed the consignment over to Ranjith and Akshay, who took it to Thrissur on a service bus. 

Following Ajith’s instructions, a buyer arrived in Thrissur, collected the sandalwood, and left, revealing how the illegal trade was carried out.

The theft occurred on the night of June 25, when the sandalwood trees were cut from the premises of the Marayur Family Health Centre. However, it was only on June 29 that the hospital staff noticed the missing trees and lodged a complaint with Marayur Police.

The investigation led to Mahesh, an accused in multiple cases, including murder and sandalwood smuggling. He had recently been released on bail. Police discovered that three strangers had stayed at his residence before the theft.

Mahesh and Ajith Kumar were taken into custody from Mahesh's house. During interrogation, police recovered the sword used to cut the sandalwood and, based on their statements, arrested the remaining two accused.

Long Criminal Histories Revealed
Ajith Kumar, also known as "Soju," is a notorious criminal with 26 cases against him, including three murder cases.

The Thrissur East Police previously booked Ranjith in a gold heist case where he allegedly attempted to murder a gold dealer using a knife during the robbery of one kilogram of gold. He is currently out on bail. Akshay is also an accused in multiple ganja (cannabis) cases.

Interestingly, all four accused reportedly became acquainted while serving time at Poojappura Central Jail, a connection that led them to plan and execute the sandalwood smuggling operation in Marayur.