347 kg poppy straw seized from Indo-Nepal border

Kolkata, Feb 15 (IANS) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday said that it, in a joint operation with the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), seized 347 kgs of poppy straw and arrested one person from the India-Nepal border in West Bengal.

The consignment was seized after the NCB personnel intercepted a tractor on National Highway 34 in Darjeeling district's Panitanki on Wednesday afternoon.

"Gopal Mahto, 26, a resident of Bihar has been arrested on Wednesday from Gosh Pukur toll plaza in Panitanki, near the India-Nepal border. 347 kgs of poppy straw worth approximately Rs 20 lakh have been seized from him," NCB Kolkata Zonal Director Dilip Kumar Srivastava said in a release.

Investigation revealed that the seized consignment was procured from West Bengal's Malda and was intended to be smuggled to Nepal, he added.

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