Jaipur: The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) seized nearly 1,000 kg of poppy husk valued at around Rs 1.5 crore during a highway checkpoint operation near Chaksu Friday. The consignment was reportedly being smuggled from Jharkhand and was intended for distribution in Rajasthan. ADG (Crime) Dinesh MN said that acting on a tip-off about a truck transporting a large quantity of illegal substances, the AGTF, working in coordination with Chaksu police, set up a checkpoint along a rain-soaked stretch of the highway. As officers moved in, the truck driver, sensing he was being tailed, abandoned the vehicle and fled, using the heavy downpour as cover.Senior officials said the container was packed tightly with poppy husk, concealed in a manner meant to evade detection. The seizure was made during a thorough inspection of the vehicle after it was secured by police. Investigators traced the truck’s registration and launched a probe to identify the driver and uncover the larger network involved in the smuggling operation.A police officer said that the banned substance originated in Jharkhand. “It is still under investigation where exactly in Rajasthan the poppy husk was to be delivered,” he said. The rain surrounding the highway made the search for the driver difficult, but police teams continue efforts to track him down. “It has come up during preliminary investigation that only the driver was in the truck. There was no helper,” said the officer.
