Three Indian nationals were arrested yesterday for possession 227 kilograms of white sandalwood during a raid on a house at Thihariya in Nittambuwa, Police said.

Police said the suspects who collected sandalwood from Sri Lanka were preparing to smuggle them into India. The suspects were from Andhra Pradesh in India.

The men were employed by a factory in the Nittambuwa Free Trade Zone that import white sandalwood and grind them for export and they had been staying at the house in Thihariya for more than a year, Police said. (Pushpakumara Mallawarachchi)