KOCHI: Five persons, including Willingdon branch secretary of the CPI (M), were taken into custody by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on charges of attempting to smuggle eight metric tonnes of red sanders. On a tip-off, DRI officials intercepted the consignment at Vallarpadom International Transshipment Container Terminal here on Saturday. Sources said the container was booked by Suweehan Exports owned by Yousuf of Thrissur. The plan was to smuggle the wood via Dubai to Hong Kong, where the consignment is estimated to be worth Rs 80 lakhs. DRI officials said logs of red sanders were stacked beneath a layer of coir pith. Jayan C K, a clearing agent and Willingdon branch secretary of CPI (M), was arrested for handling the transaction, sources said. In another incident the City Police caught a drug peddler along with 113 ampoules of tranquilisers. Krishnachandran, 31, of Daivaparambil near Lourdes Hospital, has been arrested by the police several times for drug peddling.