3 arrested with 60kg poppy straw worth Rs 8.8 lakh

As per information, it was suggested that the suspects had stashed a large quantity of contraband in the godown.

Following a thorough recce of the godown to gather intelligence about the activities going on in the premises, multiple teams surrounded the godown on the night of August 22. The police teams first intercepted a tempo, which was going to the godown, at some distance from the premises.

The tempo was loaded with cooking gas cylinders. While searching the tempo, police recovered 32 gas cylinders which, as the probe revealed, were refilled and were being illegally transported without adequate permit.

The tempo also had a nylon gunny bag full of poppy straw, weighing around three kg. While questioning the driver of the tempo Rakesh Jeevanram Bishnoi (24), who hails from Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, it came to the fore that two more of his accomplices were inside the godown.

After seizing the tempo, the police teams raided the godown and seized over 50 gas cylinders and three bags containing 57 kg of poppy straw. Mukesh Girdhariram Bishnoi (23) and Kailas Joraram Bishnoi (23), who were at the godown, were arrested. Police said the total value of the seized poppy straw is around Rs 8.8 lakh in the illegal market.

The arrested suspects were produced before a court on August 23 and sent to police custody. Police have launched a search for two more suspects — Anilkumar Jaat, a resident of Rajasthan from whom the three arrested suspects procured the contraband and Avinash Pansare from Mahalunge, who gave the property on rent to the suspects without completing the requisite procedures.

Poppy straw, also known as ‘poppy husk’ or ‘doda chura’, is what is left of the poppy capsule after opium is extracted and the seeds, also known as ‘khas khas’, are removed. Legal cultivation of opium poppy is carried out annually in selected areas in India notified by the Central government such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Licences for cultivation are issued by the Central Bureau of Narcotics to selected farmers.