Coimbatore : A 10-member gang axed and took away the trunk of a full-grown sandalwood tree from a house in Kovaipudur in the city in the early hours of Thursday.

Police said Gandhi (72), a retired government employee staying in a rented house, heard some noise outside his house. When he peeped through the window, he noticed the miscreants cutting the 20-year-old tree with an electric hacksaw and raised alarm, they said.

Hearing this, the gang took away a 6-ft-long trunk and left the other pieces there.

Police have formed a special team to probe the matter.