Notorious Red Sanders smuggler K Gangi Reddy, who was deported to India from Mauritius on Sunday was on Monday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a court in Kadapa district.
Gangi Reddy, who was brought to Hyderabad via New Delhi on Sunday, was produced before the additional district judge in connection with a murder case and sent to Kadapa district jail for 14 days. Earlier Police took him to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences for medical check up.
The murder case in Prodatuur is one of the 28 serious criminal cases in which Gangi Reddy was wanted. The most serious and sensational case relates to his alleged involvement in the attempt on the life of then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in October 2003 in Tirumala by the Maoists.
Andhra Pradesh director general of police J V Ramudu said that Gangi Reddy had links with the Maoists and had helped the ultras in carrying out the attack on the Chief Minister. Naidu had escaped the attack narrowly
Police officials, who were elated over the success of their efforts to bring back the fugitive, estimate that Gandi Reddy had accumulated wealth of Rs 400 crore through the massive network of smuggling of Red Sanders. He was also wanted in several cases booked by the state forest department.
Though arrested in April 2014 by the Kurnool district police, Gangi Reddy had secured the bail from the state High Court and fled the country. As Gangi Reddy was on the run from Dubai, Ghana, Malaysia and Madagascar before landing in Mauritius, Andhra Pradesh police with the help of the Central government agencies got a a Red Corner notice issued by the Interpol leading to his arrest and deportation.
A team of officials form Interpol and Mauritius brought Gangi Reddy to New Delhi yesterday and he was shifted to Hyderabad the same evening.
Briefing the media about the operation JV Ramudu said that the focus would be on getting all the information from Gangi Reddy about his international and local contacts before taking action.
Prodattur court has already convicted him in a murder case and sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment. He was produced in the court to execute the sentence, police offcials said.
Gangi Reddy was also notorious faction leader of Kadapa and was involved in many criminal cases there. His major activity was however illegal cutting of Red Sanders wood from the reserve forest area of Rayala Seema and smuggling to the international markets specially to China, Japan and Dubai.