Illegal Timber Worth Lakhs Seized in Joint Operation in North Tripura Forests Agartala |

Illegal Timber Worth Lakhs Seized in Joint Operation in North Tripura Forests Agartala | In a major crackdown on timber smuggling, officials from three forest divisions along with jawans of the 33rd Battalion of Border Security Force (BSF) recovered illegal timber worth around ₹80,000 from deep forest areas of North Tripura. The joint raid was conducted in the Juri Forest Reserve area under Panisagar subdivision, near Jalabasa. According to reports, acting on a tip-off, officers from Dharmanagar, Kanchanpur, and Kumarghat forest divisions, accompanied by BSF jawans and Panisagar police officials, carried out the operation. For a long time, timber smugglers had allegedly been felling valuable teak trees in the Juri Forest Reserve, including trees from government plantations, and storing them temporarily before smuggling them out of the state under the cover of darkness. During the raid, the joint team seized illegal teak logs valued at approximately ₹80,000. However, no smugglers could be apprehended as the timber was found abandoned deep inside the forest. The seized timber was later brought to the Panisagar Forest Office. The operation was led by Dharmanagar Forest Division SDFO Rakesh Das, Kanchanpur SDFO Suman Mia, senior BSF officials, and Panisagar police personnel. Officials noted that similar successful raids have been carried out in the past by the Panisagar Forest Department, which has previously seized large amounts of illegal timber and vehicles used in smuggling from the Juri and Banshul forest beats. Local residents have praised the efforts of the forest officials and BSF jawans for their vigilance in protecting the forest resources of North Tripura.