28-year-old held with 8kg poppy straw in Vashi

An LPG cylinder delivery man was arrested on Wednesday by Navi Mumbai police with 8kg of poppy straws worth ₹3.2 lakh. The drug is commonly used by truck drivers, who consume it to remain awake during long hours on the road.

The special squad of the zonal deputy commissioner of police received a tip-off, following which the team, led by assistant inspector Gangadhar Devde, conducted a raid in the village of Kopri in Vashi on Wednesday afternoon. The accused Sunil Bishnoi, 28, a resident of the village, was arrested, and the drugs were found in his possession.

“During the search of his person, we found around 312 grams of the poppy straws in crushed form. After Bishnoi was taken into custody, we raided his house and found the remaining drugs. They are valued at ₹3.2 lakh,” said Devde.

Bishnoi had reportedly been peddling drugs for extra income for the last two years. He procured the contraband from Rajasthan, said police, adding that they suspect the drugs were smuggled via the Afghanistan-Pakistan route.

“Poppy straw is often used to make heroin, but in India, it is more commonly used by truck drivers in powder form [bukki]. The drug is sold at ₹40,000 per kg in the Indian black market,” said a Navi Mumbai police officer.

Bishnoi was charged under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Police are now attempting to identify Bishnoi’s contacts in the chain of command to find out from whom he procured the drugs.