Poppy husk worth Rs 1 cr seized in Sirsa

Sirsa, April 22

The Anti-Narcotics Cell and Sirsa police intercepted a truck on the National Highway-9 and seized 2,245 kg of poppy husk valued at about Rs 1 crore. Notably, the truck bore an “Army on duty” sticker to deceive the authorities. The truck driver was apprehended and an FIR was lodged at the Ding police station.

Sirsa Superintendent of Police Vikrant Bhushan said Anti-Narcotics Cell incharge Sub-Inspector Ajay Kumar was patrolling with his team on Saturday night when he stopped a Rajasthan-registered truck coming from Fatehabad. The driver identified himself as Vikas Kumar, a resident of Ganganager district, Rajasthan. However, he could not provide satisfactory answers regarding the contents in the truck.

Subsequently, the police conducted a search and found 117 plastic bags filled with poppy husk hidden beneath a tarpaulin sheet. The truck driver said the owner of the truck, Om Prakash, had loaded poppy husk into the truck near a dhaba on the Ranchi bypass with the intention of transporting it to Punjab via Sirsa.

During the interrogation, the police learned that narcotics were being smuggled by the accused under the guise of Indian Army shipments for quite some time.

Notable, such a large consignment of poppy husk has not been seized in Haryana in recent times. Twenty years ago, the Sirsa police had seized 2,000 kg of poppy husk from a truck. The SP said cases had been filed against the truck driver and owner under the Narcotic Drugs and other Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The SP said the truck driver would be presented in court for remand so that the police could bust the network involved in smuggling.