UP: Drug peddler held with morphine worth Rs 1.5 cr in Barabanki

Barabanki (UP): The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) has arrested an alleged drug peddler and recovered morphine worth Rs 1.5 crore from an autorickshaw on the Lucknow-Ayodhya road in Barabanki district, a police official said on Sunday.

ANTF Deputy Superintendent P Beenu Singh said 1.5 kilogram of morphine was recovered from the autorickshaw, parked in front of an empty house in near KD Singh Babu Stadium in Kotwali area.

The accused has been identified as Fayaz alias Munna Tailor, from Barabanki district, Singh said.

The international market value of the seized drug is estimated at around Rs 1.5 crore, she added.

During interrogation, Fayaz revealed that he is an associate of notorious district smuggler Jaipal, the officer said.

He had recently purchased a new autorickshaw and was using it to supply morphine from Bhanmau in Barabanki to Kamta in Lucknow, Singh said. Police are investigating the smuggler’s network and further action is underway, she added.