Ahmedabad : Special Operations Group (SOG) and anti-narcotics wing of Ahmedabad rural police seized 696.9kg of opium poppy husk (posdoda) worth Rs 1 crore that was allegedly concealed in a truck transporting a steel coil from Nagpur to Sanand.
Acting on a tip-off, police tracked the truck-trailer and intercepted it on the Kheda-Dholka highway on the night of Oct 8. The driver was allegedly promised Rs 2 lakh to transport the consignment to its receiver in Gujarat, with the industrial cargo being used as a cover. During the search, police found the contraband packed in 35 sacks. The total value of the seizure, including the narcotics, truck, steel coil, two mobile phones and cash, was estimated at Rs 1.5 crore. The arrested driver was identified as Bhairaram Tarad (33), a resident of Barmer in Rajasthan.
An alleged supplier identified as Santosh loaded sacks of poppy husk into the trailer near Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh and concealed them beneath a tarpaulin covering the steel coil, according to police. Police have detained Jetaram Kadwasha of Samakhiyali in Kutch, the alleged receiver of the consignment, for questioning. Santosh, the alleged supplier from Jhabua, remains wanted. A case has been registered at Dholka rural police station under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.