New Delhi, Sep 10 - A sandalwood smuggler was arrested here Thursday and 6,365 kg of sandalwood was recovered from his possession, police said.

'We have arrested Vicky Chaudhary who was involved in this trade for over an year and used to smuggle sandalwood from the jungles of Andhra Pradesh,' said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Atul Katiyar.

Chaudhary is a resident of Kingsway Camp in northwest Delhi and ran the illegal trade under the guise of a spices business in the Khari Baoli area of the capital.

'He came in contact with Lakshmanan, a native of Chennai, when he supplied spices over there and then entered into this illegal trade,' Katiyar said.

According to police, Lakshmanan is the kingpin of the gang and Vicky is one of his main associates.

'Lakshmanan steals the sandalwood from the jungles of Andhra Pradesh and surrounding areas and smuggles the same to Delhi and other parts of India,' Katiyar said.

'They used to transport the sandalwood by trucks. They would cover the same with cartons of tomatoes and papayas so that they could get through the checkposts and camouflage the scent of the sandalwood,' Katiyar added.