Hyderabad: In a crackdown on an organised sandalwood smuggling racket, Jubilee Hills police arrested four women from the Pardhi community of Madhya Pradesh, believed to be part of a much larger criminal syndicate operating across Hyderabad.
The arrested women Palan Bai Pardhi, Shahnaj Bai, Nimat Bai, and Madhuri Adivasi were picked up following a string of sandalwood thefts reported in Jubilee Hills, Madhuranagar, and surrounding areas. Police say the group is part of a 23-member network, many of whom remain at large.
According to investigators, the gang arrived in Hyderabad about three weeks ago, posing as nomadic families peddling brass items a calculated facade designed to deflect suspicion while they carried out targeted thefts. Their main focus included green zones such as the National Institute for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME) campus at Yousufguda and other tree-dense pockets in the city.
An officer involved in the case explained that the group used women and children as part of their operation to blend into local communities and avoid drawing attention. “Their method relied on the appearance of harmless travelling families, which made it easier to move around without raising alarms,” he said.
The broader syndicate, according to police, involves 19 others hailing from different villages in Katni, Jabalpur, and Panna districts of Madhya Pradesh are currently absconding.
Investigators say the gang used family members to move the stolen sandalwood, blending in and earning the trust of local auto drivers and residents to quietly shuttle the contraband to buyers and middlemen. Every theft was mapped out in advance, with members surveying locations ahead of time to select targets and chart smuggling routes.
The manhunt for the remaining members is still underway, as police work to break apart the entire network behind the sandalwood thefts.
