Ranchi/Medininagar (Jharkhand), March 31 Poppy husk and opium worth a total of Rs 1.23 crore have been seized, and three persons have been arrested in separate incidents in Ranchi and Palamu districts of Jharkhand, police said on Tuesday.
In Ranchi district, police arrested one person and seized 566.5 kg of poppy husk and 700 gm of opium worth a total of Rs 88.47 lakh, a senior police officer said.
The accused was arrested during a raid on a house in Budri village in the Namkum police station area on Monday, following a tip-off that a gang comprising more than five members was involved in the sale and purchase of opium and poppy husk, he said.
Ranchi Rural Superintendent of Police Praveen Pushkar said, "We have arrested a man identified as Manish Tirkey (26), the main accused in the gang involved in the sale and purchase of poppy husk and opium in Khunti and Hazaribag districts."
Other members of the gang fled the scene, and a manhunt has been launched to apprehend them.
During the raid, 35 sacks of poppy husk weighing 566.5 kg and 700 gm of opium were seized. In addition, Rs 2.28 lakh in cash, a four-wheeler, and a mobile phone were also seized from his possession, the SP said.
The market value of the seized poppy husk is Rs 84.97 lakh, and the opium is worth Rs 3.5 lakh, he added.
An FIR has been registered under sections of the BNS and the NDPS Act, and he will be forwarded to judicial custody, police said.
In Palamu district, police seized around 216 kg of poppy husk worth Rs 35 lakh on Tuesday morning, police said.
Two persons, including one from Uttar Pradesh, have been arrested, they said.
"Acting on a tip-off, police intercepted a car carrying poppy husk in the Manatu police station area and arrested the accused," Palamu Superintendent of Police Reeshma Ramesan said.
The accused were identified as Sanjeev Sharma (36), who hails from Faridpur in UP's Bareilly district, and Nizamuddin Rain (44), a resident of Garhwa in Jharkhand.
During the interrogation, the accused said they purchased poppy husk from various areas in Jharkhand and sold it in Uttar Pradesh, she added.