2 held in T’gana for illegal cultivation of opium poppy straw

Hyderabad, March 19 : As much as 390 kg of illegally cultivated opium poppy straw, valued at Rs 20 lakh and meant for sale in Karnataka, was confiscated on Thursday in Telanganas Ranga Reddy district and two people arrested, police said on Friday.The arrested have been identified as D.

Chennakeshavaulu (45) of Anantapur district, and D.Venkataramana (43) of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.While Chennakeshavulu was arrested on charges of illegal cultivation of poppy, Venkataramana was arrested for allegedly supplying poppy seeds to him.Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagawat on Friday said that the duo were planning to sell the contraband to customers near Bengaluru.According to the police, Chennakeshavulu had leased agricultural land in Lemur village, from Buchi Reddy and then on the advice of Venkataramana, began cultivating poppy since the last three months.

The accused have been booked under the NDPS Act, and sent to judicial custody by a court.