A police task force has been set up to combat the growing red sander smuggling, according to Director General of Police J V Ramudu .

Speaking to the media after launching the newly set up police command and control under Safe City Project, Ramudu said the GO and the budget allocation had already been made for the creation of the new Armed Police Task Force. The task force, which would be under the control of CCF (Chief Conservator of Forests), would work in coordination with the district police and Forest Department in order to end the red sanders smuggling.

This apart, the setting up of closed circuit cameras in all check-posts in the smuggling infested districts, more so on the borders, was also under way, he said. The proposal was already approved by the Chief Minister.

The DGP patted the police in four Rayalaseema districts, including Tirupati urban police and Nellore, for their significant success in containing red sanders smuggling. “There was perceptible decline in red sanders’ smuggling with the police going all out against the smugglers, which was evident with the arrest of 35 international and inter-state smugglers, in the past six months.

On the police failure to nab the notorious smuggler Gangi Reddy, who believed to have managed to escape to a foreign country, to evade the police, he said a red corner notice had already been issued seeking the Interpol assistance to track down elusive smuggler.

About the stringent measures of attaching the properties of red sanders’ smugglers to check smuggling, he said it is feasible but was possibly only with the approval of Assembly and Parliament for amending the existing laws suitably to provide for the attachment of the properties.

The DGP said the Department would take up construction of Urban District Police Office in Tirupati once the district administration or the TTD provided suitable land for it.

Replying to a question on Tirumala security, he said it was not a one day affair, it was a continuous process, which we were doing and added that keeping in view of increased threat perception, the police were on a constant vigil and updating their efforts to ensure total security of the famous pilgrim centre.

Anantapur range DIG Balakrishna, Collector Siddharth Jain, Tirupati urban police SP Gopinath Jetti and others were present.