NCB raids shops in Nanded, seizes 111-kg poppy straw, 1.4kg of opium

The raid at the shops in Kamtha, Nanded by NCB has been going on since Monday. Along with 111kg of poppy straw, NCB has also seized 1.4kg of opium and cash worth ₹1.55 lakh

NCB raids shops in Nanded, seizes 111-kg poppy straw, 1.4kg of opium

NCB has arrested two people in the case in Nanded and have also seized two grinding machines that were being used for grinding poppy seeds, an electronic scale and note-counting machines from the shops. (PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATION)

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday arrested three persons for allegedly running a drug unit from three shops located at Kamtha in Nanded district.

“The raid at the shops in Kamtha has been going on since Monday, following specific information. We have seized 111kg of poppy straw, 1.4kg of opium and cash worth ₹1.55 lakh,” said NCB’s Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede.

NCB also seized two grinding machines that were being used for grinding poppy seeds, an electronic scale and note-counting machines from the shops.

For the past two weeks, a Mumbai NCB team has been tracking down drug suppliers and peddlers who are active in Nanded, Jalna and Aurangabad districts of the Marathwada region. On November 15, the agency had seized a total of 1,127kg of marijuana worth ₹5.63 crore at Manjram in Nanded and arrested two persons in the case. They had also seized a 12-wheeler truck, and learnt during the interrogation of the accused that the consignment had come from Andhra Pradesh and was to be delivered in Jalgaon.

Poppy straw and opium are raw materials used for producing heroin. Opium is obtained from unripe poppy seedpods, which exude milky latex that coagulates and changes colour, tuning into a gum-like brown mass upon exposure to air. This raw opium is treated further to obtain derivatives –contraband materials such as morphine, codeine and heroin.