MP: Poppy straw worth Rs 39 lakh seized from truck in Mandsaur; one held

The Madhya Pradesh police have seized 26 quintals of poppy straw worth Rs 39 lakh from a truck in Mandsaur district, an official said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the police team intercepted a truck bearing a Rajasthan number plate on Mhow-Neemuch highway on Monday evening, Daloda police station in-charge Sanjeev Singh Parihar said.

The poppy husk was kept in 130 plastic bags, which concealed under bundles of jute bags in the truck, he said.

The truck driver identified as Motilal Ahir was arrested and a search is underway for four others involved in the illegal trade of the contraband, the official said.

A case under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against the accused, he added.

Poppy straw is the husk left after the opium is extracted from the pods. The straw contains a small quantity of morphine.