150 kg poppy shell, opium seized

The police seized 150 kg of poppy shells and 250 gram of opium meant for smuggling to neighbouring West Bengal, a senior official said here today.

Two persons were arrested along with the drugs seized from two vehicles near a petrol pump at Pipla village on NH 33 under MGM police station area, Senior Superintendent of Police Anoop Birtharay said.

Poppy shells were dried pods of poppy plant in which poppy seeds are found and from which opium is made.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team last night intercepted a mini truck and recovered 150 kg of poppy shells stuffed in eight sacks, Birtharay told a press conference.

The 250 gram of opium was seized from a car that was following the mini truck.

The drugs were supposed to be smuggled to Kharagpur in West Bengal, where a kg of the poppy shell would have fetched Rs 4000, the SSP said.

While two persons were arrested, some other people who were in another car managed to flee, he said.

The poppy shell and opium were being transported from Tamar under Ranchi district of Jharkhand to Kharagpur, the arrested persons said during interrogation.

The SSP said teams have been sent to Tamar and Kharagpur for investigation and the police were trying to find out if any inter-state gang was involved in this case.