ANTF Saharanpur seizes poppy straw worth ₹1 crore; 2 drug traffickers held

Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Narcotics Task Force arrested two drug traffickers, seizing 15.48 quintals of poppy straw worth ₹1 crore from Rajasthan.

The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has arrested two interstate drug traffickers who were smuggling narcotics from Rajasthan, confirmed senior police officials in a press note shared from state police headquarters in Lucknow on Friday. They said the ANTF team seized 15.48 quintal poppy straw worth approximately ₹1 crore from the arrested accused.

Officials said Saddam Hussain and Nadar Khan alias Baatia were arrested while they were transporting the narcotics in a canter from Rajasthan to Bhatinda, Punjab. (For Representation)

Poppy straw is the husk left after the opium is extracted from the pods. It contains a very small morphine content. The officials said Saddam Hussain and Nadar Khan alias Baatia were arrested while they were transporting the narcotics in a canter from Rajasthan to Bhatinda, Punjab. They said the ANTF team received information about the smuggling operation and collaborated with the CIA staff in Ellenabad to nab the accused.

“During interrogation, the accused revealed that they were part of an interstate drug trafficking network that operates across multiple states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. They were being paid ₹50,000 per day for transporting the narcotics,” said a senior police official.

He said the ANTF team registered a case against the accused under appropriate sections of the NDPS Act at Ding police station in Sirsa, Haryana. The accused were found to be habitual offenders and were involved in smuggling narcotics across state borders.