Miscreants have failed to lift an eight feet tall sandalwood tree with a circumference of two feet from the Tehsil office premises at R Udyagiri on Saturday. Surprisingly, though the location is just 30 meters from the R Udaygiri police station, the police could not get any inkling about the midnight operation. The thieves cut down the tree but could not succeed in lifting it. On being informed, the Forest department personnel reached the spot and seized the tree. It may be noted that though the sandalwood smuggling has become almost a common affair in the locality, the R Udaygiri Forest department has failed to check the trend.