Indore, Jan 23 (PTI) Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials arrested three people, including a dhaba owner, and seized opium and poppy husks worth Rs 55 lakh from them in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Monday.
He said NCB raided a dhaba (roadside eatery) on the Neemuch-Mandsaur national highway and seized 10.286 kg of opium and 7.220 kg of poppy husks.
Indore unit NCB official Brijendra Chaudhary also said the dhaba was prima facie used as a front to carry out illegal activity.
Another official told PTI the seized contraband costs around Rs 55 lakh (in the grey market).
The government gives a license to farmers in Mandsaur, Neemuch and some other districts in the country for opium farming, officials said, adding the stuff was used in preparing medicines. PTI HWP LAL NSK NSK