Rajasthan: Opium plants worth Rs 2 crore seized; two arrested

Jaipur, Feb 14 (PTI) The Rajasthan Police have seized over 6,000 kilograms of illegally cultivated opium plants worth around Rs 2 crore and arrested two persons in Karauli district, officials said on Saturday.

The action was carried out under 'Operation Shikanja', a statewide campaign against organised crime, narcotics, gambling and illegal mining.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided agricultural fields in the Kailadevi police station area and recovered 6,067 kg of green opium plants concealed amid mustard crops, Karauli SP Lokesh Sonwal said.

Sonwal said the accused had planted tall mustard crops to hide the illegal cultivation. Police arrested Chourasingh Meena (37) and Mankesh alias Pintu Meena (32), while another accused Ghanshyam alias Ghasu Meena is absconding. The seized plants were packed in 285 plastic sacks.

Officials said the search and seizure process was videographed using an e-evidence application and uploaded to cloud storage to ensure transparency. Revenue officials were also called to verify land records.

Police are probing the intended supply chain and possible links of the narcotics network, they added. PTI AG PRK