Khunti Police Seize 231 Kg Poppy Straw, 2 Kg Opium; Arrest Wanted Smuggler with Pistol

Khunti (IANS): Jharkhand Police seized 231 kg of poppy straw, nearly 2 kg of opium, and a country-made pistol in a series of anti-narcotics operations in Khunti district over the past 24 hours. Officers also arrested a wanted smuggler, officials said on Thursday.

The police conducted separate raids in different police station areas and registered cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Arms Act.

In the first operation, Jharkhand Police recovered 231 kg of poppy straw, a raw material used to produce opium, from an abandoned car in the Murhu area.

During an early morning patrol on Thursday, officers intercepted the vehicle near Ghaghra village on the Gunloya-Saridkel road. The smugglers fled into the darkness after spotting the police team and abandoned the car. Officers recovered 13 sacks of poppy straw from the vehicle and lodged an FIR at Murhu police station. Police have launched a search to trace the absconding suspects.

Varun Rajak and Nayal Godwin Kerketta led the raid.

In the second operation, police set up vehicle checks at Anigada Chowk on the Khunti-Chaibasa main road.

Rishabh Garg said officers acted on specific intelligence and tried to stop a motorcycle rider, who abandoned his bike and bag before fleeing through farmland.

A search of the bag led to the recovery of 1.995 kg of opium, which police estimated to be worth around Rs 10 lakh in the international market.

In another operation, police arrested Ram Munda, a wanted suspect in previous opium trafficking cases, near Bhandra Chowk.

Acting on a tip-off that the Aloudi village resident was carrying a firearm in the Bhandra area, a team led by SDPO Varun Rajak laid a trap and arrested him. Officers recovered a country-made pistol from his possession, registered a case under the Arms Act, and sent him to jail.