3 held in 350-kg poppy husk seizure case

Tribune News Service

Solan, February 20

The Paonta Sahib police today arrested three people in the 350-kg poppy husk seizure made about 10 days ago.

A truck driver had fled after deserting his vehicle near the Behral inter-state barrier when the police had confronted him. About 200-kg poppy husk was recovered from the truck and another 250 kg from the riverbed of the Yamuna river from freshly dug up pits. No arrest had been made till now in this case.

Bir Bahadur, DSP, Paonta Sahib, said those arrested were truck driver Ajmer Singh and his two accomplices – Budh Ram and Mohhamed Shaan, alias Kala. Ajmer Singh and Budh Ram hail from the Satiwala area while Kala hails from the Ghutanpur area of the sub-division. A special investigation team was constituted to probe the case.

The accused were produced in a local court that remanded them to three days police custody. Initial probe revealed that the trio had been operating since the last several years.

Poppy husk was smuggled from Jharkhand where it is available for around Rs 600 per kg while it sells for Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per kg locally.