Truck carrying over 700 kg poppy husk to Punjab intercepted in Kota, driver arrested

KOTA: The Kota police have seized over 700 kilograms of poppy husk worth over Rs 1 crore loaded in a truck going to Punjab, police said on Thursday.

The truck's driver Subash Singh (24), a resident of Punjab's Patiala, has been arrested while his helper, a minor, has been detained, Suket Station House Officer (SHO) Raghuveer Singh said.

The recovery was made on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday during a routine vehicle check on national highway 52 under Suket police station limits, Kota (Rural) Superintendent of Police Karan Sharma said.

According to SHO Singh, the police team on the spot signalled the truck driver to stop the vehicle after it crossed the toll plaza but the driver accelerated the vehicle and moved towards a link road to dodge the police.

However, after chasing the truck, the police found the vehicle and nabbed its driver and helper, the SHO said.

On searching, around 795.1 kilograms of poppy husk worth around Rs 1.19 crore in the international market were seized from the vehicle, which was bearing a Punjab number plate, the SP said.

The drugs were wrapped in 40 packets and covered with plastic crates, he said.

During the initial interrogation, Subash said the truck was loaded with drugs at the Bhawani Mandi town in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, the police said.

The drugs were be delivered to a man in Punjab who contacted him via WhatsApp and ordered him to collect the delivery, he told the police.

Based on Subash's statement, the investigation was handed over to Ramganj Mandi police station in Rajasthan.

The accused was produced before the court on Thursday and has been sent to six days police remand, Ramganj Mandi Circle Officer Ramnarayan Bhanwaria said.

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